7 v 




ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



■ 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

OF 

ELDER JOSEPH LUFF, 

ONE OF THE 

TWELVE APOSTLES 

OF THE 

Eeorganized Church op Jesus Christ of 
Latter Day Saints. 




LAMONI, IOWA: 
HERALD PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
1894. 



GAYMER'S- OLD BOOK STORE, 834 15th St., Denver, C<A* 



$0 m® letter, 



WHOSE TOILING FINGERS EED AND WHOSE PRATERS AND 
TEARS ENLISTED HEAVEN'S GRACE TO SAVE 
HER WAYWARD BOY; 

AND 

To my Wife, 

WHOSE PATIENT TOIL AND CHEERFUL SACRIFICE NOW 
FREES MY LIFE FOR GOSPEL SERVICE, 

THIS HUMBLE VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY 

®^f)ldS¥^f). 



PREFACE. 



Emerson has said, "There is for every man a 
statement possible of that truth which he is most 
unwilling to receive— a statement possible, so 
broad and pungent, that he cannot get away from 
it, but must either bend to it or die of it." 

Looking out upon the world as we find it to-day, 
upon the mind of the thoughtfully observant indi- 
vidual, (the individual who knows that in the 
gospel plan of salvation the truth and righteous- 
ness of God is revealed,) is forced the conviction 
that there is no truth men are so unwilling to 
admit as this great fundamental one upon which 
the destiny of the human family depends. 

For the world's great and urgent needs, men are 
seeking, in every direction save this, a remedy. 
Of the stupendous social problems growing out 
of these urgent needs they are diligently seeking 
solutions ; and, above all, because inseparably 
connected with all, they are seeking to quench 
their thirst from broken cisterns and refusing to 
draw from the wells of living water. 

It is because of these deeply seated convictions 
that this volume is published; and the hope near- 
est the heart of its author in giving it to the world 



viii 



PREFACE. 



is that in it the statement of the grand and soul- 
inspiring truths of the gospel of Christ may be 
put in such a way as to make it impossible for 
some, at least, to "get away from them." 

Various minds are reached in various ways. 
The writer of this preface remembers well the 
fascinating power which biography always 
possessed for her, especially in her youth, and 
hence has urged the author to preserve his plain, 
unvarnished story in a more lasting form than 
that of a magazine article. 

In these pages the author, taking you by the 
hand, leads you side by side with him along the 
rough and thorny paths of toiling poverty, sure 
pledge to those who do not know him (for those 
who know him do not need this pledge) that his 
tender sympathies are ever enlisted upon the 
side of those who toil and suffer; that to him the 
knowledge of another's need ever comes as a. 
personal appeal. 

An eminent writer has said, "If I wanted to 
teach a man, I would let loose a life at him. 
Words are weak, but the logic of a life is irre- 
sistible.'" In these pages the reader will com- 
pany with one upon whom "a life was let 
loose" while yet a boy, one who very early- 
was compelled to assume the responsibility 
which Wendell Phillips calls "educating" and 
to contend with the poverty of which Garfield 
said, "It is uncomfortable, as I can testify,"' 
and in the outcome of this history they will 



PREFACE. 



ix 



find an added proof of the assertion, ' 'but in nine 
cases out of ten the best thing that can happen to 
a young man is to be tossed overboard and com- 
pelled to sink or swim for himself. In all my 
acquaintance," he adds, "I never knew a man to 
be drowned who was worth the saving." 

In this kind of literature, our church is all too 
poor, and we ought, as a people, to welcome 
gladly this addition to our meager supply; for 
each separate chapter will be found rich in expe- 
riences all tending to the encouragement of those 
who are climbing upward along life's uneven 
pathway. 

Nor is this all, but in its pages will be found a 
tribute so tender and true to woman as mother and 
wife as can but inspire in the hearts of those who 
read an earnest desire to be worthy of the same 
from their own sons and husbands. 

It is a book which from the first page to the last 
cannot fail of carrying with it the assurance of 
earnestness of purpose and adherence to the truth 
of convictions, no matter how trying the circum- 
stances, and it is our firm conviction that it will be 
blessed of God to the enlightening of many and to 
the bringing many to a knowledge of the truth. 

Frances. 



CONTENTS. 



ENGRAVINGS. 

Page, 

Elder Joseph Luff (Frontispiece). 

Mrs. Ann Devine (Elder Luff's Mother). 21 



Elder Luff and Family. . . 313 

• Chapter. 

I. An Ominous Greeting . . 1 

II. Kith and Kin .... 8 

III. Earliest Recollections . . .21 

IV. Signs Indicative ... 37 
V. Capering Nature . . . .61 

VI. From Nature to Grace . . 79 

VII. New Responsibilities . . .94 

VIII. Approaching the Truth . . Ill 

IX. Into the Sunlight . . . .133 

X. Getting Experience . . . 160 

XI. "Differences of Administration" . 190 

XII. "The Manifestation of the Spirit" . 212 

XIII. First Mission to Utah . . . 227 

XIV. From West to East . . .247 
XV. From East to West . . .270 



XVI. Notes by the Way. — Promotion .• 291 
XVII. New Fields and Duties . . . 313 

SERMONS. 

Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood 

of Man . . . . .329 
The Modern Stumbling-stone . . 349 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



CHAPTER I. 
AN OMINOUS GREETING. 

There's something in a noble boy, 

A brave, free-hearted, careless one, 
With his unchecked, unbidden joy, 

His dread of books and love of fun, 
And in his clear and ready smile, 
Unshaded by a thought of guile, 
And unrepressed by sadness — 

Which brings me to my childhood back, 

As if I trod its very track, 
And felt its very gladness. 

N. P. Willis. 

Has the evening of October 31 in any of 
the years of the last half century ever found 
the reader in a Canadian city? If so, his 
memory will be revived by what is here re- 
cited. If not, he will, perhaps, be surprised 
to learn that on that night, throughout the 
Dominion and also in all other places where 
Scotch and English traditions obtain, things 

terrestrial get into a strange uproar. 
1 



2 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



The monotony of a year's associations and 
quietude is suddenly broken, and every mova- 
ble thing seems to be seized with an irresistible 
impulse to go off at a tangent. Wagon 
wheels start from the old familiar axle, round 
which they have contentedly revolved for a 
year, and are found next morning sheltered 
among the spreading branches of some distant 
oak or chestnut tree. Wheelbarrows climb to 
the top of neighboring barns, garden gates 
and shed doors go off on a pilgrimage and 
only return upon arrest by their original 
owners, their whereabouts having been learned 
after days of diligent quest. Balls of twine 
climb out of the merchants' store drawers and 
find their way to some dark street, where 
they attach to door-knobs on one side and 
bell-knobs on the other. Chimney flues sud- 
denly refuse to conduct the smoke from fires 
below and transform themselves into resting 
stools for renegade window-shutters, or furnish 
shelter to some fugitive garden hose that has 
sought refuge in their sooty retreat. 

Nor are these strange phenomena confined to 
things inanimate. The family horse becomes 
discontented with his native stall and normal 
attitude, and, wandering off at midnight, seeks 
a neighboring woodshed or factory, into which 
he deliberately backs himself and pulls the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



3 



door close after him, There he meekly 
stands till invited out by the astonished host 
in the morning. Goats effect an entrance to 
distant cellars and familiarize themselves with 
the glassware and canned goods therein, for 
which liberty they bow their apologies next 
morning and obtain permission to leave 
unmolested. Cows become bewildered and 
mistake the velvety lawn adjoining some 
convenient parsonage for their accustomed 
pasture and assume the liberties of the place. 
Pigs go picnicing in biped reserves, and fowls 
are frequently found roosting on office desks 
at late hours on November r. Cats varnish 
their tails with coal tar, tie their feet in pairs, 
and quietly drop backward into grandpap's 
overcoat pocket, where they instantly begin a 
solo that thrills the air with its melody to the 
tune of "Mortals heed my plaintive cry," with 
variations, till the atmosphere is blue and 
grandpapa's hands are black, as he responds to 
the appeal. Then the tune is changed, for 
the old gentleman begins where the emanci- 
pated feline leaves off, and in staccato tones 
breaks into a melody that ends with, "Hades! 
quick! thy vengeance hurl," or something 
equally expressive. Here and there an odd 
dog escapes the contagion; but it is only 
where he has been assigned a special post of 



4 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



duty, and where the witches (for prudential 
reasons, unnecessary to explain) do not exert 
their subtle influence. 

Even vegetation is found in sympathy, for 
cabbages wrench themselves from the soil and 
turn up their stalks appealingly to the passing 
hordes of boys, as if agonizing to be relieved 
thereof. Touched by the earnestness of such 
appeals the generous lads rush in, and, with 
an alacrity unknown to our jury system, sever 
the Gordian knots, thus relieving the suppliant 
head; then, seizing the divorced stalks with 
which to arm themselves against the floating 
elves, they parade the streets, shouting, "Hal- 
loween ! Halloween ! !" to warn the inhabitants. 
This course is pursued through the principal 
; streets ; but, upon entering those avenues 
where the balls of twine have adjusted them- 
selves, as already intimated, the juveniles post 
themselves, each before a door, and, at a 
given signal, the cabbage stalks begin an 
irregular tattoo on the panels. This lasts less 
than a minute, but the inhabitants thus 
aroused rush to the doors, and all along either 
side of the street they busy themselves in 
ringing up their neighbors over the way. 
Merchants respond to the hoodlum cry that 
rends the street air, and dump the contents of 
their apple barrels on the outer pavement to 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



5 



be scrambled for and consumed hurriedly, by 
the clamoring juveniles. 

Early in the evening children gather in the 
kitchen round a wash tub, half filled with 
water, on the surface of which floats a number 
of apples. Kneeling on the floor, and with 
hands bound behind them, they reach their 
heads over the sides of the tub and duck for 
the apples, each vying with the other in an 
effort to catch the dodging fruit and bring it 
out in their mouths. In the dining room 
apples are suspended from the ceiling at the 
end of long cords, and set in motion. At 
either end of the sweep stands one or more 
boys or girls, with jaws distended, eager to 
seize the oscillating fruit, but more frequently 
doomed to develop a lump or blister through 
miscalculation, as the apple plants itself with 
emphasis on the upper lip. At midnight the 
maidens rise and perform some antiquated 
ceremonies requisite to getting a glimpse in 
dream of prospective husbands, while old 
wives try to swallow red herrings whole, at a 
single gulp, to exorcise the stalking demons 
and obtain release from the fiats of fate. In 
fact all nature seems agog. 

Days and sometimes weeks elapse before 
the country recovers fully from the effect of 
this annual masquerade of the witches ; and 



6 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



sometimes the wandering objects referred to 
forget the landmarks of their journeying and 
fail to ever return. 

Such were the events and such was the 
commotion in progress in Toronto, the 
capital city of Upper Canada, when the writer 
— forty years ago — made his advent among 
mortals; and, without fail, in rain or shine, 
the celebration of his birthday has been thus 
faithfully observed each following year to 
date. Who, then, among those to whom his 
present faith is such a delusion, can wonder 
that one born in the midst of such baneful 
surroundings, with superstition thickening the 
very atmosphere, should become, in later 
years, an easy prey to the "mysterious influ- 
ences of that crowning superstition which 
ensnared so many thousands of earth's inno- 
cents." Surely if people were better informed 
as to the character of the goblins that 
heralded my coming they would condone the 
eccentricities that characterize my stay. Or, 
on the other hand, they might conclude that if 

Demon spell and human skill, 
Combined, could not disturb us, 

It must be that, in Sovereign will, 
We've been spared for a purpose. 

However it may be, the writer is here, and 
in the following chapters will be found a brief 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



7 



mention of some of the circumstances by 
which the course of his pilgrimage has been 
influenced. No effort will be made to extol 
or debase himself in the readers estimation. 
No attempt will be made to meet the 
exactions of literary critics. The bad with 
the good may be unskillfully interblended, yet, 
if the medley but represents in miniature the 
facts of 2L life, and that life be the writer's, it 
is at least true to its design. The conscious- 
ness that a divine hand has led him. and the 
hope that his brief recital may help to nerve 
the faltering trust of his youthful readers, 
together with the intent that some older eyes 
may detect hopeful signs in other boys whose 
effervescent mischief invites upon them so 
many maledictions, are the incentives to the 
publication. 



8 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



CHAPTER II. 
KITH AND KIN. 

Sometime when all life's lessons have been learned, 

And sun and stars forevermore have set, 
The things which our weak judgment here has spurned, 

The things o'er which we grieve with lashes wet, 
Will flash before us out of life's dark night, 

As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue; 
And we shall see how all G-od's plans were right, 

And how what seemed reproof was love most true. 

Anon. 

My father, John Luff, was born in Sussex, 
England, in 1 8 1 8, and at a very early age left 
his home, migrated to America, and settled in 
Toronto, where he remained till his death, in 
1865. Of his parents I know nothing, save 
that they were reported to have been poor 
but industrious people. His father died while 
he was but an infant and his mother a few 
years later. Even of my father himself I 
remember but little ; for my seventh year had 
not been completed when he left our home; 
and, though we met occasionally, he did not 
return until the beginning of the year in 
which he died. Just five months after his 
return he was taken sick with what would 
now be called pneumonia, and in one week 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



9 



thereafter, on the twenty-third day of May, 
while I was absent at my place of employment, 
he passed away. What I had been in point 
of benefit for years I was now in fact — 
fatherless. 

I do not know that my father had any 
religion. I learn from mother that he favored 
the Episcopalian form of faith and died in its 
professsion. His long absence from home 
(about six years) had the effect of alienating 
the affection of his children, to a limited 
degree at least, so that his command and 
influence over them was not recognized by 
me as fully after his return as it might other- 
wise have been. With the circumstances 
that attended his leaving and long absence I 
never sought to become fully acquainted. 
Being too young to sense the seriousness of 
the matter at the time, I never made inquiry, 
nor have I ever done so to this day. I know 
he returned and died at home, and with his 
dying breath bore testimony to the faithful- 
ness of the good wife he was leaving a widow, 
expressed sorrow that her goodness had not 
been fully rewarded by him, and urged the 
children to honor and obey her. These 
things I learned from the lips of friends who 
watched by his side when he closed his eyes 
in death. 



10 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



Some time after his marriage he was thrice 
stricken with paralysis, which resulted in the 
loss of his hearing, and my memory does not 
recall a time when he could hear a sound of 
any kind distinctly. All communication with 
him was conducted by writing, except when 
he could detect the words uttered by the 
motion of the speaker's lips, at which he 
became quite expert. 

He was for years engaged solely in the 
manufacture of shoe blacking and lucifer 
matches, his chances for success remaining 
quite fair until a large firm, backed by ample 
capital, entered the field and left him without 
ability to compete in the market with its 
wares. He continued, however, to follow his 
business in a limited way as long as he lived, 
engaging at intervals in such other work as 
gave promise of remuneration to one in his 
condition. Afflicted as he was he was an 
object deserving sympathy, and as memory 
portrays him before me to-day, I wish I had 
loved him more, and that my boyhood 
history contained no record of impudent 
retort or stubborn resentment toward him; 
but it dees, and that which my riper years 
and better sense condemns as having been 
wrong, (though I was but a child,) may God 
in his tender compassion forgive. He was 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 11 



my father, and no mistake of his could ever 
justify an unfilial word in me. It would be 
consolation to me also could I know that he 
was now aware of my repentance. 

My mother's maiden name was Ann 
Garbutt. She was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, February 6, 1831, but was brought by 
her parents, Joseph and Mary Ann Garbutt, 
to Canada when she was but three years of 
age. They settled in what was then known 
as Muddy York, but what is now known as the 
beautiful city of Toronto, situated upon the 
Toronto Bay (or harbor) of Lake Ontario. 
Her parents were poor ; but by dint of 
economy and perseverance they succeeded in 
raising their quite large family to manhood 
and womanhood before the hand of death 
removed them. Of the family left when they 
died there were three sons and four daughters. 

James, the oldest son, appears dimly before 
my mind as I saw him once in Toronto, and 
afterwards in Cincinnati, Ohio ; but of his 
record I cannot speak from personal knowl- 
edge as of others. His death occurred some 
twenty or more years ago, neither the exact 
date nor the cause being known to me. The 
members of his family, at last account, were in 
Cincinnati, where they probably still remain. 

Joseph, the second son, a man whose intel- 



V2 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



lectual competency was such as to have fitted 
him to grace almost any important position, 
had opportunity or fortune even shown an 
inclination to smile upon him, lived during 
the greater part of his life in his native city ; 
and many were the happy hours spent by the 
writer in company with him, in conversation 
upon such themes as called out the results of 
his profound thought and extensive research. 
He was a good man, and under the writer's 
influence was led to unite with the Primitive 
Methodist Church, where he remained in 
fellowship till 1882, when he too was taken 
hence by death's hand, leaving a widow and 
three sons. One of the sons remains in the 
home city, one is in the new State of Wash- 
ington, and the other in Detroit, Michigan. 

Benjamin C, the youngest son, was of a 
roving disposition and remained in one place 
no longer than was necessary to wear off the 
novelty of its attractions. When in the city 
he always made his home with my mother, 
and this gave me excellent opportunity to get 
acquainted with him. He had a temper 
characteristic of the family, or at least all the 
members of it with whom I enjoyed intimate 
acquaintance. It was prolific in words, 
vehement in expression, and collapsed before 
it had well started, always followed by deep 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 13 



regrets, if ought of damage had been done to 
the feelings of another. He was as generous 
as he was jovial, and I used to think him the 
"jolliest man alive." Finding me to be a "chip 
off the Garbutt block," in point of mischief, he 
took a peculiar fancy to me, and I was 
generally found at his heels when it was 
possible to have me there. 

In return for my child service in running 
short errands he gladdened my heart with 
many a penny, and took delight in making 
odd articles for my amusement. Only one 
real bad thing do I remember of him. 
The family cat had been guilty of some 
depredation in the room he occupied, and 
upon its discovery, he seized the unsuspecting 
feline by what he called its "narrative," and, 
going outside the door, whirled the poor thing 
around his head several times and then let go 
hurling Tabby to the other end of the garden. 
As I stood watching that cat sail through the 
air, without fin or feather to propel her, I 
thought it would be safest for me not to make 
Uncle Ben mad while I was small and wing- 
less, and I didn't. 

He never married. In 1869 or 1870 he left 
Canada for California. He also left a blank 
in the writer's heart and life that long 
remained unfilled. O, how I secretly wished 



14 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



that I was big enough to go with him, for 
California had a wonderfully fascinating sound 
in my ear after hearing him talk about it. 

Ten years afterward — in 1879 — when the 
Reorganized Church sent me as a missionary 
to the Rocky Mountain mission, I gathered 
together several documents and letters re- 
cently received, determined on going to 
Carson City, Nevada (where I learned he had 
located), before coming East again. My love 
for him was still alive, and I wanted him to 
see his nephew a man, and let him hear from 
that little boy's lips the story of the restored 
gospel ; but in this I was grievously disap- 
pointed, for I had not been three months in 
Utah before the tidings reached me that 
Uncle Ben was dead. A stranger at Bodie, 
California, wrote and sent papers certifying to 
the fact, also forwarded his Bible to my 
mother. Mother then raised money and sent 
it to put a headstone over his grave. Whether 
it has been placed there or not I have not 
learned ; but whether marked or unmarked, 
there is a spot of earth in Bodie that is dear 
to my thoughts and must ever remain so till 
the trumpet's blast shall call forth the sacred 
relics it entombs. By his merry spirit and 
generous hand many a gleam of sunlight was 
turned in upon my boy-life ; and while 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 15 



memory holds its seat, 'twill always reserve a 
verdant spot for jolly Uncle Ben. 

Rachel, the oldest daughter, married John 
Goodall, a thrifty farmer, residing near 
Toronto, but afterwards removed to the 
township of Garafraxa, close to where the 
town of Bellwood is now located. There 
they settled on a tract of land and remained 
till their retirement recently from the toil and 
responsibility incident to farm life. The old 
farm is rented to their Son Thomas, who is at 
present mayor of Bellwood. Another son, 
James, conducts a grain and cattle business in 
the same town, and one daughter, Dillie, is 
the wife of William Hamilton, and resides 
somewhere in Washington. The other re- 
maining daughters, Rachel and Mary Ann, 
are happily married and located near their 
parents' present residence and close to the 
old homestead. Prosperity smiled upon the 
toil, patience, honesty, economy, and perse- 
verance of my aunt and uncle, and they are 
to-day exempt from the necessity to work and 
worry. May they long continue to enjoy 
their well-earned rest is the wish of the 
nephew whose religious notions they have 
such grave suspicions about. 

Martha, the next daughter, married a Mr. 
Spencer, with whom I never became, ac- 



16 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



quainted, and who afterwards died. Later, 
she married a widower named Neil C. Love, 
one of the best men I ever knew, and to whom 
reference will be made further on. His 
business in Toronto was that of a chemist 
and druggist, in which he prospered and 
accumulated considerable wealth. He also 
held prominent positions in the city's gift, 
being alderman for fifteen years, also magis- 
trate, and was frequently solicited to accept 
various other honorable positions, but de- 
clined. Through the extremities of our early 
home life I frequently obtained views of his 
generous nature, and as years passed had 
opportunity to learn that he was one of the 
number whose history proves the correctness 
of the words of inspiration, "The liberal soul 
shall be made fat." A man against whose 
record no word or hint of suspicion was ever 
heard; and when, with the suddenness char- 
acteristic of apoplectic attacks, his earthly 
career was terminated a few years ago, the 
immense city was in tears and mourned its 
irreparable loss, while the newspapers teemed 
with unstinted eulogium of the dead. A good 
man — a noble spirit went to the reward of its 
earth-service. 

His widow and seven children remain, three 
of whom were the fruits of his former mar- 



ELDEK JOSEPH LUFF. 17 



riage. With a possible exception, all of these 
are in positions of honor and emolument, and, 
with wealth like a luxurious garden around 
them, they pass their years free from the 
cares incident to reverse conditions. To their 
pleasure and plenty the writer only hopes 
there may be added the richer possessions 
that strew the pathway of obedience to Christ 
and his gospel, the undimmed realities of 
which stretch far beyond all mortal limitations 
and remain coequal with the years of God. 

Mary, the youngest daughter, married Mr. 
Wallace Millichamp, of Toronto, one of the 
shrewdest and most successful business men 
of that city, a man whose sole capital not 
many years ago was his remarkable business 
sagacity and indomitable will, by force of 
which he has earned a fortune for himself. 
He, also, has served as city alderman and 
been connected with numerous public enter- 
prises. His immense showcase and silver 
plating, also mantle and tile works, are among 
the leading establishments of the country, 
to which he has added other branches of 
business. His success in wealth accumulation 
has been phenomenal. Still in the prime of 
life, his business energy shows no sign of 
abatement, and just where ambition's goal is 
by him located we may not surmise. 



18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



Quite a large family has been given to 
them, of whom four sons and two daughters 
are still living; all of the former occupying 
places of trust and profit, and promising to 
follow close upon the heels of their fortunate 
sire. The daughters are beautiful and prom- 
ising, and they carry well the accomplishments 
with which wealth and refinement of spirit 
have so liberally endowed them. Could all of 
these but see and feel the splendor of God-life 
that is revealed in the ancient gospel as again 
committed to earth, how absolute would then 
become the completeness of their possessions. 
We wish for them no less of earth's, but more 
of heaven's wealth. May it be theirs to 
acquire eternal truth and reap its final glory. 

The object of this brief reference to the 
standing and character of my immediate 
relatives may indistinctly appear as the reader 
continues his perusal of the life-story thus 
introduced. There is sometimes a measure 
of satisfaction to be drawn from comparisons 
such as this permits me to make. As I grew 
up under the pressure of poverty's environ- 
ments and looked out upon the condition and 
surroundings of the relatives referred to, 
whom I knew were free from the weights that 
held me down, I frequently indulged in solilo- 
quies that were full of complaint, dissatis- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 19 



faction, bitterness, and even envy. My 
ambition strengthened however, and my 
determination as a lad became fixed to some 
day be the peer of them all. I never lost 
sight of that resolution till the gospel of the 
Son of God subdued me. 

As I take a retrospect now I stop to thank 
God for interposing such events as deflected 
the current of my life-purpose, and changed 
my will. I still delight in reflecting upon 
those earlier days ; but I look with different 
eyes and feelings than I once did. We look 
back, ofttimes, from the higher plane of ma- 
tured experience and see the effects of early 
contact with people and things; and the 
intolerable mysticism that hung around the 
awful then finds ample and satisfactory ex- 
planation in the development of the great 
now. How plain the lesson, but how slow 
are we to learn it ! To-day will soon be 
to-morrow's yesterday, and, if the past con- 
tinues to repeat itself, we shall, from the 
loftier plane of to-morrow, look back upon the 
severe conflict and apparently unnecessary 
inflictions of this hour and discover to our 
delight that God's disciplinary programme 
comprehended all the hidden necessities of 
our character. 

Let us but be sure that our righteousness 



20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



is of the kind that entitles to a place in his 
hand, then with an uncomplaining trust we 
may patiently toil and wait for the dawn of 
explanation day. "What I do thou knowest 
not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." So 
said Jesus to Peter, and so the writer believes. 
If the little advances in knowledge and 
wisdom we make here justify such material 
changes in our judgment of the past, and if it 
be found that the crucible of earlier years 
contributed most liberally to the spiritual* 
wealth of the present, may it not be believed 
that in the distant future, when it becomes 
the eternal noiv, the true saint will stand side 
by side with his "elder brother," and, from 
the supreme heights of the celestial hills, look 
back over the valley where his or her feet 
now bleed, and, in the clearer light of divine 
interpretation, see that the rocks of human 
extremity, which once seemed so barren and 
* cold and cruel, were the spots where God 
stood closer than at other times, and the soul 
from thence took on immortal fatness, while 
fed on manna fresh from heaven. Those 
times, those places, will then challenge higher 
estimate, and, as we scan the map of our 
mundane pilgrimage, I verily believe that 
whenever the eye shall fall upon those 
Gethsemanes we shall there dwell most lov- 
ingly and praise most fervently. 




MRS. ANN DEVINE. 

Elder Luff's Mother. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 21 



CHAPTER III. 

EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS. . 

The bravest battle that ever was fought, 

Shall I tell you where and when? 
On. the maps of the world you will find it not, 

'Twas fought by the mothers of men. 

Joaquin Miller. 

Such as this 
Is many a poor one in her humble home, 
Who silently and sweetly sits alone, 
Pouring her life all out upon her child. 
What cares she that he does not feel how close 
Her heart beats after his — that all unseen 
Are the fond thoughts that follow him by day 
And watch his sleep like angels? 

N. P. Willis. 

The marriage between John Luff and 
Ann Garbutt occurred on the 26th day of 
May, 1847, the latter being but sixteen years 
of age. As a result of this union seven 
children were born, four of whom remain. 
Two of the others passed away before their 
ages were numbered by weeks, and one, 
William James, lived to be nine months old, 
when the ailments incident to teething termi- 
nated his earth life. 

Of the four children remaining, my Brother 
John, now resident in Independence, Missouri, 



22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



is the oldest. He was born in Toronto on 
the iith day of July, 1850, and was therefore 
two years and nearly four months old at the 
time of my birth. My Sister Elizabeth Mary 
(now wife of Bro. Thomas Hattey, of Inde- 
pendence, Missouri), was born March 9, 1857, 
and my youngest sister, Mattie Ann, on the 
6th of July, 1859. The last named is now 
the happy wife of Mr. Thomas Smellie, of 
Toronto. In addition to these, two other 
children were born as the fruit of mother's 
subsequent marriage, to which reference will 
be made later on. 

Before my first year of life had been com- 
pleted I was taken to the Methodist church, 
of which mother was a member, and by her 
turned over to the Rev. John Douse, then 
minister in charge, who, from the miniature 
Jordan improvised upon the pulpit for the 
occasion, took a few drops of water in his 
hand, and, dropping them upon my forehead, 
repeated a customary formula and pronounced 
me baptized. The venerable clergyman then 
stretched forth his arms before the large 
congregation, holding me firmly, and formally 
consecrated me to God, concluding with an 
earnest prayer that I might bear the name 
given me, in honor, and like Joseph of old be 
ever found valiant for the truth. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 23 



From the lips of my mother I learn of the 

above circumstance, and with her I am fully 

agreed that the good old parson's prayer on 

that occasion was like hundreds of those now 

being offered for "Pentecostal showers'' — it 

comprehended more than he anticipated or 

his church had room to contain ; and if the 

answer came at all, it must seek elsewhere for 

shelter and for welcome than within the 

smoky quarters and narrow limits of a modern 

creed: — 

"Full many a shaft at random sent 
Finds mark the archer never meant." 

The ceremony thus observed answered the 
parental conscience at that time, without 
inflicting any injury upon the babe, which 
continued to grow and "wax fat," contentedly 
ignorant as to the design of such maneu- 
vering. 

From infancy to the point where memory 
begins its service, the years were passed as 
are those of most rugged boys born of poor 
parents in a big city. Mother's account leads 
me to believe I was not lacking in the 
elements that combine to make "music" in 
the. family. My brother, though older, was 
rather delicate; and it became my lot to drop 
in between him and trouble with the neigh- 
bor boys when juvenile altercations were in 



24 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



order, and such privileges gave me "no small 
delight." Much of our mother's, time was 
taken up in nursing the sick ; and during the 
great cholera scourge and smallpox epidemic 
that swept over the city and resulted in such 
terrible mortality, she was in constant de- 
mand. I have heard those who knew her 
well in those days tell of the horror and sur- 
prise that was depicted on neighbors' faces as 
they saw her voluntarily go about from house 
to house, nursing the sick and the dying and 
laying out the dead, while many of the rela- 
tives of the smitten ones would fly from the 
dread contagion and leave their sick to die. 
Everybody but mother expected she would 
bring home the disease and destroy her chil- 
dren ; but the hand that was over her life 
when, amid the blackness of the plague, like 
a ministering angel she moved, was also over 
her little ones, and He to whose kind care 
she commended them did his work well in 
protecting them from the destroyer's power. 

Years afterward the story of her heroism 
was related in my hearing by those who had 
witnessed it, and the effect of it was never 
entirely lost. Many a time I have caught 
myself wondering, as a child, what I could do 
to show that her spirit lived in me. Can 
anyone wonder at my being proud of such a 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 25 



mother? What son would not feel his blood 
course more warmly through his veins as he 
listened to the recital of his mother's bravery? 
The thought of that mother moving to and 
fro among the dead and dying, performing the 
humble services that looked toward an 
alleviation of human agony, facing the deadly 
peril that threatened, without a single thought 
of self, while thousands of stronger women 
and men were fleeing for life before the face 
of the stalking pestilences, was an inspiration 
that gave birth to holy resolve within me. 
Others may point with greater assurance to 
distinguished names and titles along their 
ancestral lives and boast of honored lineage ; 
but to me my mother's self-sacrificing devo- 
tion to humanity's interests during those 
perilous months is evidence enough of royal 
blood. I say it unhesitatingly, that a hundred 
times in my early life I have been kept from 
doing improper things by the thought that I 
bore that mother's name. 

Just when my schooling began I do not 
know; but I remember with what ease I 
learned to read and spell, and what impa- 
tience I used to feel while standing up in 
class and having to wait while some other 
boys drawled along and blundered. History, 
grammar, geography, and writing were quite 



26 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



another thing and entirely out of the range 
of my inclination. In fact I do not remember 
ever trying to learn them, though they were 
pressed upon me with other studies. If by 
any means it was possible they were avoided, 
and the result was, that when compelled to 
leave school at ten years of age, I could write 
a barely readable hand, but was about as ig- 
norant of those other three branches of study 
as any boy who had not spent over two 
months in school. What little I know of 
grammar to-day comes of a natural faculty for 
observation, and is solely of the practical 
kind; book definitions, school theories, and 
the like are unknown to me. To parse a 
sentence correctly and use book terms and 
phrases in doing it would require a skill never 
acquired by me. As for history and geogra- 
phy, my acquaintance with them has been 
limited to the actual necessities that this lat- 
ter-day work has pointed out. I found no 
trouble in keeping at the head of my class in 
reading and spelling, and holding a fair aver- 
age in arithmetic ; but the other matters were 
seldom disturbed by my inquisitiveness ; in 
fact they were despised. 

My experience in Sunday school began 
very early in life and for eleven years scarcely 
a dozen entries were made against me for 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 27 



absence, except when away from the city. 
The credit for this is hardly due to me, how- 
ever, for had my inclination been consulted, 
the time thus occupied would have been spent 
elsewhere. The trouble was, my poverty 
always stood in the way of any pleasure to be 
found there. My pride suffered under the 
exhibition of that poverty that was constantly 
being made by contrast with my surroundings. 
My clothes, though clean, were patched, and 
fight it as I would, the conviction hung to me 
that other boys shunned me because my attire 
was not equal to theirs. Some of them were 
not slow in making parade of their superi- 
ority ; but my own feeling was such as to 
magnify every movement and construe every 
utterance into a reflection upon my appear- 
ance, whether it was so intended or not. 
Several of them were rich and came from pala- 
tial homes, and my fancy led me to think the 
teacher regarded them more highly than me, 
on that account ; but there is nothing too 
mean or unreasonable for a boy of soured 
feeling to think at such times. To learn was 
no trouble for me, however, and I had my 
revenge frequently in committing and reciting 
more verses of Scripture than did they, by 
which means I often ranked above them. 
Anything that discomfited them was a grati- 



28 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



fixation to me, whether it was caused by the 
above* means or the accidental insertion of a 
piece of cobbler's wax between them and the 
seat. Fair means or foul — anything to take 
the "starch" out of them and break the mo- 
notony of Sunday school sessions for me. 
Often since then I have wondered where the 
teachers got their patience, and have wished 
I could see them again and tell them that all 
their labor was not lost on that headstrong 
and apparently good for nothing lad. 

How thankful I have been, a thousand 
times since then, that mother's word was law 
with me in those days. My observation has 
led me to believe that much is lost to willful 
boys by overindulgence on the part of par- 
ents in this regard. Had mv wishes been 
respected in the matters referred to. the pres- 
ent would probably have had a different tale 
to tell of my character and work. God only 
knows. Suffice it for me to behold what 
is. and bless the conditions that have con- 
tributed thereto. 

As alreadv stated, mv regular attendance 
there was due to the fact that mother so 
ruled. To disobey her was out of the ques- 
tion. The benefits that have come to my 
life in consequence of that ruling I can never 
overestimate: nor can I find a place to stop 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 29 



admiring her for it. It is but one of a num- 
ber of instances where her will and mine were 
not at an agreement, and where submission 
on my part was mortifying to the flesh ; but I 
have since learned that a parent's eye can 
discern and a parent's wisdom provide against 
a host of ills that, unseen by him, threaten 
the character of a mischievous and independ- 
ent spirited boy. I never think of these 
things now without blessing God for so excel- 
lent a mother, and wishing that I could 
impress upon the youth of to-day the impor- 
tance of yielding to parental government, and 
thus preparing themselves for the benediction 
of heaven in later years. 

The work of providing for four children 
was no trifle; but when it fell upon mother's 
shoulders alone, because of my father's de- 
parture from home, she assumed the task 
without any murmuring that I ever heard, 
and nobly continued it through long years 
till relief came. It was no uncommon thing 
for me to wake up long after midnight — 
sometimes towards daybreak — and, looking 
toward the light in the next room, see that 
patient toiler, with swollen eyes and worn 
fingers, plying the needle and thread, not 
having had a wink of sleep. Calling to her, 
I would ask why she did not go to bed. 



30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



There was but one answer to this. It came 
so often that I learned it: "I must finish this 
coat first. Go to sleep, my son, I will come 
after awhile." And thus the years went by. 
Day and night, the same patient, tired look 
remained upon that face till my young heart 
would rebel as I thought of wealth, wealth all 
around, and yet my mother must be a martyr 
to such conditions. Whenever my thoughts 
took words and she heard them, how she 
would come with outstretched arms to catch 
me in their embrace, and planting a kiss upon 
my brow or lips would exclaim, "If my boy 
only grows up to be a good man and to be 
useful, his mother will be, O, so proud of him, 
and so glad that she toiled alone for him and 
the rest." 

Reader, those words burn in my heart to- 
day, and the tears break forth as I see even 
now the look of joyous anticipation that ac- 
companied their utterance. I can see those 
tears and hear that benediction, "God bless 
my children," whenever I think of mother, 
and the former days. I can also remember 
the joy akin to ecstacy that seized her when 
on one occasion two ladies sent a small pres- 
ent to each of us. The thought that some- 
body remembered her children was rapturous 
to her. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



31 



While the burden incident to providing 
food and raiment for us fell thus upon her, 
the domestic service rested with my brother 
and myself, as my sisters were quite small. 
We had the dishwashing, sweeping, dusting, 
scrubbing, and woodcutting to attend to 
regularly. The boy who can sit quietly by 
the warm hearth or parlor fire and while away 
his winter nights, amusing himself with pretty 
books or toys, can hardly appreciate the ex- 
periences here referred to. Some of my boy 
readers may feel it quite an infliction to be 
required on a winter's evening to run to the 
coal house for a scuttle of coal or an armful of 
wood; but if my Brother John and I could 
have gotten off with such a moderate service, 
we would have hailed the privilege as a fore- 
taste of the millennium. It was a rare thing 
for us to have a huge pile of cordwood, either 
cut or uncut, within a hundred feet of the 
stove, to refer to as a replenisher. I remem- 
ber once seeing a man drive into the yard 
with a whole cord of wood on his wagon, anc ] 
our consternation was so great that we ran 
pell-mell into the house to tell mother, whose 
surprise was not much less than our own ; 
but it was no mistake, for Uncle Love had 
sent it, without consulting us, as a present. 
Our child eyes spread at the sight and the 



32 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



news, till it seems to me they must have 
looked as big as his heart felt when he did 
the kindly act. 

It was a bonanza to John and myself and 
we figured on the lasting quality of that pile 
of wood with a satisfaction unknown to hosts 
of boys nowadays. As already stated, it was 
a rare thing to see such a quantity of wood 
near our rear house door, and it meant won- 
ders for us. No more need for trudging 
through snow and sleet for firing while that 
lasted, and we wished it might last forever; 
but it didn't. We enjoyed it, however, for a 
few weeks and then resumed the old custom 
when necessity called for it. When enough 
money could not be raised to buy a quarter 
of a cord of wood at a time, John and I 
would go a considerable distance to a wood 
yard and buy three or four sticks, which we 
would carry home in the cold and through 
the snow and then cut it up. This was no 
exceptional occurrence either. It became 
part of the routine work of weeks sometimes. 
And what a time we did have trading work. 
John would buck the wood if I would scrub 
the floor, sometimes; then I would trade him 
marbles to do the sawing and leave me the 
splitting, and in fancy I still see myself sitting 
for fifteen minutes figuring out a trade to get 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 33 



rid of some unpleasant job that could be done 
in perhaps ten minutes. 

John was lean and long-winded while I was 
short and fat, and he could outwear me on a 
steady pull. My nervous nature would start 
in when work had to be done and something 
had to give in a hurry ; but when my breath 
gave out and the sweat would stand in great 
beads on my red face, while my heart thumped 
against my ribs and my breath came and 
went like steam puffs, I would stop and look 
at the progress John was making. There he 
would be, keeping up the regulation seesaw 
gait, and seeing me stop he would probably 
ask a little of my fat to grease his saw. 
During my resting spells he would outstrip 
me and it generally happened that his pile 
was higher than mine at the finish, besides 
having saved both his wind and perspiration. 
Wood-sawing as a health recruiter is good 
enough exercise; but the novelty of its hygi- 
enic property wears off in a boy's imagination 
when it becomes a daily prescription in such 
proportion as we had to take it. The man 
who pronounced medicine all right in its 
place, but questioned the advisability of tak- 
ing a washtub full a day was not far off. In 
fact, to be honest about it, my ambition never 
reached out in the direction of wearing a 

3 



34 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



badge as champion woodcutter. My opinion 
on the subject agrees with that of Josh 
Billings on boils. They may be a good thing 
to wear, but the best place to wear them is on 
the other fellow. The story was told me of a 
small boy who was sent out about six o'clock 
one morning to saw stove wood. About seven 
o'clock his father came to him and asked how 
much he had done. Pointing to the stick 
upon which his knee was planted, he replied: 
"When I get this one cut, and that one over 
there, and two more, I'll have four done, and 
it's early yet." That boy was not entirely 
without my sympathy. Of course this does 
not speak for John, for he seldom complained 
over his share of that kind of work. But 
how we did barter and jangle about who 
should wash and who should wipe the dishes, 
especially when there was a kettle or two in 
the consideration. 'Quite frequently mother's 
interference would become a necessity -at 
these times and a mandate would be issued in 
settlement. I would not, however, have the 
reader suppose that the settlement was always 
made by mandate. OccasionalK something 
more "impressive" was introduced by way of 
variety and emphasis. 

Our service as helpers at home was not 
limited to the chores above referred to, for 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



35 



there were often long errands to go upon in 
delivering work done or calling for material 
at the places for which tailoring work was 
done by mother. Frequently the finishing of 
a vest or a pair of pantaloons would occur 
about eleven o'clock on Saturday night, and 
they must be delivered when done. John and 
I would go together, perhaps a mile or more 
while mother remained at home to prepare 
for Sunday. 

It not seldom happened that our errands 
included the purchase, on our return, of such 
things as were necessary for Sunday's supply, 
provided we were fortunate enough to "collect 
on delivery" for the work done. Sometimes 
we failed in this, and, of course, the character 
of next day's dinner was affected somewhat 
thereby; but we never missed a meal of some 
kind so far as I can remember. 

This kind of business drew, of course, very 
heavily upon our time for amusement; and 
we used to wish that girls would grow 
quicker, so that our sisters would the sooner 
take the presidency of certain departments of 
domestic life and relieve us of the responsi- 
bility. After deducting the school hours 
there was not too much time between morn- 
ing and night for sport, anyway; and when 
even that was trenched upon to the above 



36 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



extent it cut deeply into either our chances 
for fun or the hours for sleep. 

To make matters worse, my brother was 
taken down with some kind of a swelling in 
one of his knees, which made it impossible for 
him to get about conveniently. This lasted 
several weeks ; and he had not long recovered 
when ulcers began to grow over his eyes and 
he gradually lost his sight, until I had to lead 
him about wherever he went. This added to 
the load of work and took away the help that 
had borne half the burden ; but, worse than 
all, it added to the care and anxiety of our 
mother, as well as incurring expense that she 
was ill able to meet. 

How I used to vow my willingness to do 
all the work and never dispute or quarrel 
with him again if the Lord would only give 
him back his sight. No means of determin- 
ing whether my child petitions were heeded 
or not are known to me; but the sequel 
suited me, Drs. Aiken and Constantinides 
were in constant attendance uoon him, and 
what with leeches and fly-blisters and a string 
of internal remedies, they kept him a living 
martyr for several months, but finally brought 
him through to the delight of us all. When 
he could really see clearly again, we had a 
happy home and things began to assume a 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 37 



more normal condition, and I allowed him to 
do his full share of the work as before. 



CHAPTER IV. 

SIGNS INDICATIVE. 

And when moved 
By some sore needed Providence, he stops 
In his wild path and lifts a thought to heaven, 
What cares the mother that he does not see 
The link between the blessing and her prayer. 

N. P. Willis. 

"Only a boy, with his fearless tread, 
Who cannot be driven but must be led; 

* * * -Sf- * * 

"Only a boy with his wild strange ways, 
With his idle hours on busy days: 

"Only a boy, who will be a man, 
If nature goes on with her first great plan — 

* * * # * * * 

"Our torment our joy! 

Only a boy." 

Shortly after the completion of my tenth 
year, it was necessary for me to leave school 
and go to work. Hearing that a dealer in 
kerosene oil, lamps, etc., wanted a boy, I 
applied for the place and was engaged at a 
salary of one dollar per week, my time to be 



38 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



occupied in running errands and doing all 
kinds of chores incident to the business. 
Here I remained for several months. My 
employer, whose name was Kelley, was a very 
fine man and a member of the Baptist 
Church. His business was on a rather small 
scale, and his capital limited, but he was 
a man of large heart and kindly disposition. 
I well remember how he made my boy-heart 
leap for joy when on Thanksgiving eve he 
handed me a great big dressed duck, and told 
me to take it home to mother for Thanks- 
giving dinner, and that I might have all the 
day for a holiday. He was a man of small 
stature; but that night he looked bigger than 
anybody I had met for a long time. I ran 
nearly all the way home, carrying my burden, 
and went panting into the house, where the 
duck was dropped on a table and I began a 
recital of all the good things I knew about 
Mr. Kelley to mother, who listened patiently 
and agreed with me at last that he must have 
been a boy himself once ; for he knew exactly 
how to make boys feel jolly. There is some- 
thing about the name, Kelley, that sounds 
musical or suggestive of pleasure yet, to me, 
though all the Kelleys I have since met were 
not Baptists, nor small of stature, nor dealers 
in kerosene ; but that duck and that first 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 39 



holiday (for which I received full pay), always 
seem to belong by right with the name of 
Kelley. 

While working there I learned some good 
lessons. On Christmas eve I was instructed 
to fill a five gallon can with oil, polish up a 
serviceable lamp, and get several other items 
from the stock. After doing so, and putting 
all into a large box, they were placed on a 
small wagon and I was sent to the house of a 
poor man on a distant street, with instruc- 
tions to deliver the goods and when asked 
who sent them to reply that Mr. Good Will 
had done so, and to give no other name. I 
did as directed, and wondered why my em. 
ployer did not want his name divulged. 
W T hen he and his wife would afterwards men- 
tion the circumstance the thought that they, 
out of their limited store, had been able to 
make some more needy ones happy, seemed 
to fill them with delight. I question if the 
receiver of those goods ever enjoyed a tithe 
of the measure of joy that their benefactors 
did over the gift. I have since learned that 
Jesus was not mistaken when he said, "It is 
more blessed to give than to receive." The 
secret of true happiness is in trying to make 
others happy. This truth, however, had not 
then become fixed in my mind; hence the 



40 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



illustration of its force excited my curiosity; 
but it paved the way for a more ready indorse- 
ment of the truth when it afterwards came to 
my notice. It was but one incident of a num- 
ber; and when those parties, thus benefited, 
appear at the upper court on explanation day 
and the books are examined to find Mr. Good 
Will's name, I shall be there to bear witness 
that the correct way to spell it is K-e-l-l-e-y, 
and certify to the fact that the credit belongs 
to the same man who made our home so 
happy on Thanksgiving day in 1863. 

Early in 1864 I quit the service of Mr. Kel- 
ley and entered the store of a grocery firm 
then doing business on Yonge street (one of 
the main streets of the city). Here I received 
three dollars per month and my meals. My 
hours were from seven in the morning until 
ten and (on Saturdays) twelve o'clock at 
night. The surroundings at my new place 
contrasted strongly with those of the old. 
Generosity was not discernible. Scheming 
was the order of the day. The conversation 
between parties congregating there was fre- 
quently such as should not salute the ears of 
an eleven year old boy; and it was work, 
work, almost without intermission except for 
about one hour each day and some of the 
work was questionable in character. Upon 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 41 



the arrival of a crate of strawberries, the 
boxes must be taken out, gone over, and 
extended until three boxes made four, and all 
the large berries appeared on the top. To 
quiet the diminutive conscience I was sup- 
posed to possess, I was told that they had 
been packed in the berry gardens closely to 
economize space, and that the retailers were 
compelled to spread things a little in order to 
"come out even." When a mixture of 
molasses and water was copiously adminis- 
tered to the currants, it was not to add weight, 
but simply to clean them; hence I was required 
to spend ten or fifteen minutes in rubbing 
them or stirring them around in the big 
drawer, while the liquid was being poured 
upon them. If the goods delivered were not 
exactly up in quality to those shown the pur- 
chaser when buying, it was not to deceive but 
simply a mistake, the frequent repetition of 
which was owing to having trusted the matter 
to the boy. Thus it was explained to the 
customer, if he chanced to complain. 

These things did not escape the notice of 
"the boy," who was groaning under the strain 
of his long hours and heavy work; and they 
helped make him what the "boss" called 
"sassy." Mr. Tracy was a Southerner, and 
may or may not have been used to slave driv- 



42 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ing, but he certainly had but little mercy on 
the child then in his employ. He stood on 
one occasion by the store door and laughingly 
chatted about the toughness of the boy, while 
he watched me carry a hundred pounds of 
flour in a sack for half a block. At another 
time he sent me up unto the roof of the two- 
story building to sweep the rubbish from a 
hanging guttering, at the risk of my life. He 
would put half a bushel of potatoes into a 
basket and place it on my head and hang 
another on an arm loaded with goods and 
send me off with it to the customer. The 
novelty of such experiences wore off* in time, 
and the sight of other boys at play was often 
contrasted with my own lot, till I would grow 
heartsick, and grumble at the fate that made 
me poor. Many a night my feet have been 
blistered and my limbs tired, and I would 
trudge home at nearly twelve o'clock and 
wish that morning might never come. At 
mealtimes on going up to the dining room 
after all others had finished, the sound would 
ring up the stairway after me, "Now, Joe, eat 
quick; this order is ready." And after spend- 
ing from five to ten minutes bolting a few 
cold potatoes, or grinding on some other rem- 
nant of the meal proper, a summons would 
hurry me down to the store to take up the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 4a 



horrid drudgery where I had laid it down a 
few minutes before. No delivery wagon was 
employed, hence everything had to be carried 
by me to the purchaser. 

One night, about ten o'clock, while wearily 
trudging along the street with a half bushel 
of potatoes in a basket on my head, I fell 
asleep. I suppose it was only for a minute ; 
but I suddenly became aware that I was 
plunging about on all fours, with an empty 
basket under me and half a bushel of potatoes 
rolling around the sidewalk and in the ditch. 
It did not take more than a second to realize 
the situation ; but it took longer to recover 
from it and get those potatoes back into the 
basket, for the night was dark and the street 
lamps shone but dimly from a distance. One 
by one they found their way back, however, 
till all I could locate by feeling around the 
pavement were again balanced on my head 
and the journey was resumed. I have not the 
remotest idea as to how many of those 
potatoes were left in the gutter, or what the 
judgment of the customer was regarding the 
nonscriptural measure she received. I have 
neither explanation nor apology to offer for 
any seeming impiety attending my course that 
night. I was puzzled and frightened then ; 
and as I think now of my tired feet and ach- 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ing arms and bitter spirit, I wipe the tear that 
memory starts and leave some more profound 
philosopher to fathom the intricate depths of 
that circumstance, and from moral ethics 
explain to the fastidious or aesthetic soul the 
degrees of responsibility attaching to my boss 
or myself on account of the customer's loss. 

On another occasion, after running errands 
all day and on till about 11:30 at night, I was 
allowed to start- for home. It was raining 
and I was already drenched. I had a full 
mile to go ; but it was mostly alone a well- 
lighted street. Raising the old umbrella I 
carried over my head, I started along at a 
fair gait, and kept it up for a quarter of the 
distance, then gradually slackened, for it 
seemed as if I could hardly get one foot 
ahead of the other. After going along, 
probably three fourths of the distance, I was 
startled by hearing the voice of a woman, and 
on looking up, saw a fair sample of woman- 
kind, using her tongue at my expense. She 
stormed away at me, and I looked on, almost 
dazed, till I found it would be better for me 
to make tracks before a policeman arrived 
upon the scene. I had fallen asleep, and had 
staggered up against her and almost jostled 
her off the sidewalk; and she, supposing me 
to be drunk, was lavishing her eloquence 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. . 45 



upon my devoted head. When I took in the 
situation, I well knew that a plea of drowsi- 
ness would be but poor oil to pour on waters 
so troubled ; hence I vacated the ground and 
allowed the insulted lady to expend the 
remainder of her rhetoric on the heavy mid- 
night air. To some this may have a suspi- 
cious sound ; but there are others, who have 
been similarly situated, so far as the feeling 
of exhaustion and weariness is concerned, 
and to such I need not add that I have not 
overstated the facts. 

During my stay at this place I formed 
acquaintances such as have wrecked and 
ruined hundreds of boys, and my deliverance 
from like fate can be attributed by me to 
nothing less than the merciful interposition 
of Him who afterwards told me that I had 
been preserved from my birth to preach his 
truth. I, at least, prefer to acknowledge my- 
self under lifelong obligations to him for what 
seems now to have been the working out of a 
divine purpose, having in view my everlasting 
good. No good object can be served by a 
recital here of the many forms in which temp- 
tation was presented ; but to the glory of my 
Preserver, I repeat that on many occasions 
there occurred what I now look upon as 
special deliverances. The evils were inviting, 



46 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



my inclinations were strong in their direction, 
and I am at a loss now to find a single reason 
for my escape except in the fact that a loving 
Father in heaven was listening to the tender 
and constant appeals of my faithful mother 
and was interested in her boy. 

I would not have the reader suppose, how- 
ever, that the exhibition on my part was such 
as to impress the observer that I was devel- 
oping a celestial title or character. There 
were some traits discernible to even a super- 
ficial onlooker which indicated that I was 
booked the other way, and no particular pains 
were taken by me to disguise them. If the 
entire story of those days were detailed it 
would strengthen the conviction that heaven 
had odd notions about the material to be 
selected for its enterprises. 

One day, during a brief lull in the business, 
a boy of my own age and spirit with whom I 
was acquainted pointed to a bigger boy who 
was seated in a wagon, holding a team of 
horses, about two rods away down the street, 
and offered a wager that he could come 
nearer hitting him than could I. Nothing 
could suit me better than to take the chal- 
lenge, so we selected our missiles from a box 
of half spoiled tomatoes which had been set 
aside to be thrown away. One after another 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 47 



those tomatoes went through the air and 
landed with a spat all around the boy in the 
wagon, till the horses and wagon were any- 
thing but tastily decorated, and the boy was 
huddled down in front of the seat, hanging 
onto the lines and hallooing whoa ! every time 
he dared to lift his head. The seriousness of 
the offense we were commiting did not strike 
us till the boy's father appeared on the scene, 
when we suddenly remembered an engage- 
ment elsewhere. Away we ran and hid in an 
old outbuilding a short distance from the field 
of operation ; but were followed by the irate 
father, who located us at last and brought us 
out into an open space in the yard. He 
threatened to have us imprisoned ; but we 
begged so hard for him to give us a "licking" 
instead, that he finally consented and we 
danced to every tune he chose to play with 
the horsewhip for about five minutes, much to 
the gratification of his son whose time to 
laugh had now come. Of course it was 
rather unenjoyable and the humiliation at- 
tending such an "indignity" was "mortifying to 
the flesh ;" but we took our medicine and paid 
the doctor by cleaning off his wagon, and 
promising to remember him (the latter inaudi- 
bly, however). Those exact symptoms of our 
ailment did not again develop, so we never 



48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



had to have the prescription repeated, at least 
by that physician. The disease was constitu- 
tional, however, and other symptoms were 
noticeable continuously. 

Having a few minutes leisure time one day,. 
I, with the same boy, slipped into the mould- 
ing room of a stove foundry, next door to my 
employer's store. No sooner had my absence 
been discovered than his familiar whistle rang 
out and I hurried back to the store. Upon 
learning where I had been my employer 
raised his foot and kicked me, ordering me 
up stairs to dinner, and requesting my return 
to the store in a very short time. Then 
there occurred a sudden uprising of the Adam 
in my blood ; but going upstairs I deliberately 
ate all the dinner I could get, and, regardless 
of whistles or calls, remained at the table till 
my plan was matured. Going downstairs I 
encountered a volley of billingsgate, and an 
order to deliver some goods at once. But 
quietly walking over to a place where some 
articles of my own were lying, and, securing 
them, I turned round to my employer and 
told him to deliver his goods himself, for I 
was going home. His threats to withhold 
my wages and give me trouble fell on stub- 
born ears, for I marched out of the store and 
was soon at home, where I poured into moth- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 49 



er's ears a story about that kicking work that 
made her feel worse than ever I had done. I 
forget just how I told it ; but one thing is 
certain, mother's impression concerning it and 
her indignation were not a shade less than 
the event justified. I had gotten sick of that 
place, and there seemed to be no way of get- 
ting out of it unless I made her believe that I 
had been terribly abused. That little kicking 
scrape served the purpose admirably; for it 
was magnified in the recital, till mother deter- 
mined I should not return to the store. 
Thus the desired end was reached, though 
the means may not have been fully justifiable. 
I have never felt proud of what I did in that 
connection ; but the object of this writing is 
to show the boy as he was, and not as he 
ought to have been. 

After a couple of weeks' vacation I secured 
a position with a Mr. Florence, a boot and 
shoe dealer, where I had shorter hours, and 
could be home evenings. He was a Primi- 
tive Methodist, and an average good man, so 
far as his treatment of the writer went. But 
my stay with him was limited to less than 
four months ; for what seemed a much better 
opening for me presented itself and I accepted 
it. 

While I was in the employ of Mr. Florence, 

4 



50 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



I was also employed by the church to which 
mother belonged, as an assistant organist; 
that is, I was to preside at the bellows handle 
and do the pumping by which wind was fur- 
nished for the instrument. My services were 
required on all choir rehearsal nights and at 
both of the Sunday services, for which I 
received six dollars per quarter. One thing 
was accomplished by this occupation — it kept 
me regularly at church. There was a small 
wooden box, about the size of a large ther- 
mometer, fixed stationary in front of me, as I 
stood with the bellows lever in my hand. 
Inside this box (which had a glass face) hung 
a metal bob, or weight, which moved up or 
down as the wind in the bellows increased or 
diminished. Certain marks on the dial indi- 
cated the proper place to keep the weight 
registered, and all was easy to understand and 
perform ; but one Sunday morning, while a 
hymn was being sung, I became somehow 
interested in finding out why that thing 
moved as it did without anybody touching it. 
So absorbed was I in this study that I watched 
the bob go up to the top of the box, not 
thinking that anyone else would be affected 
by my investigation nor stopping to consider 
that the wind was getting scarce, when, lo ! 
the organ music ceased, and the whole con- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 51 



gregation stopped singing, in the middle of a 
verse. This sudden lull in the proceedings 
startled me, and seizing the lever I charged 
the concern hurriedly, so that not more than 
a second was lost. I learned, however, that 
it broke a terrible "hole in the ballad," and 
produced considerable consternation among 
those who were ignorant of the real cause. 
My reputation as a mischievous scamp gained 
somewhat by the incident ; but it was a clear 
case of absent-mindedness, nevertheless. 

About this time my uncle, Mr. N. C. Love, 
to whom reference has already been made, 
offered to take me into his employ and teach 
me the business of dealing in drugs, chem- 
icals, etc., provided I would behave myself and 
stay with him for several years. By some 
means I had become noted among all my 
relatives as an irresponsible citizen and they 
predicted all manner of bad fortune for me. 
Doubtless their fear in this direction led to 
the proposal to take me and make a man of 
me, conditionally; for they all gave me credit 
for being intelligent enough for most emer- 
gencies of boy life. It was easy enough to 
promise good behavior to my aunt, who took 
me aside and advised me generously ; and I 
really thought I was going to be good. But 
I appeal to all the boys who are now about 



52 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



twelve years old to know whether old folks' 
ideas of goodness are not outrageous. I used 
to think so anyway, but was willing- to surren- 
der considerable of conceit in that line, even 
then, provided they gave me decent treat- 
ment. 

As before stated, my relatives were com- 
paratively rich. I was poor, extremely poor; 
and like many other foolish boys I interpreted 
everv undesirable act in them as an intended 
slur at my poverty. This feeling made me 
suspicious and resentful ; which feeling, with 
the independent spirit I had inherited, made 
it extremely hard for me to climb up and stay 
on their ideal platform of goodness. How- 
ever I was received and initiated into the 
secrets of bottle washing, shelf dusting, ashes 
siftinor an d [ n course of time into the higher 
degrees of pill roiling and cutting, Seidlitz 
powder making, and pestle and mortar ma- 
nipulation. I was required to be on hand at 
about half past five in the morning, for my 
uncle always took an early walk of a couple of 
miles and left his Son Charles and myself to 
dust the shelves and bottles during his 
absence. Upon his return we took breakfast 
(for I boarded there) and then Charles would 
ofo to school and leave me to run the errands 
and do the day chores for either the store or 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



» 

53 



house. About half past seven at night I went 
to night school, my uncle kindly paying for 
my tuition while I was with him ; though I 
fear that those few months of school were 
wasted upon me. It would be ten o'clock 
when I arrived home ; thus making seventeen 
hours from my rising till bedtime, which was 
too much ; and I felt it, though nobody else, 
except mother, seemed to notice it. 

Mr. Love was a man in whose company 
anyone could feel comfortable. He was cheer- 
ful, chatty, young-hearted, and full of good 
nature towards me. But he had a lightning 
temper, which, try as I might to be meek, I 
would occasionally provoke; for my mischief- 
loving propensities were then in process of 
development, and Charley and myself were 
well matched. He would back almost any 
scheme I would suorcrest, and some of them 
were far from being innocent or trifling. I 
had no time before or after business hours to 
enjoy a game or get among the boys; so I 
had to make the most of Cousin Charley's 
company (when chores were not crowding) 
and get in all the fun possible. It seemed 
sometimes as if I would explode or fly to 
pieces if some chance for sport did not 
materialize. On one occasion while we were 
together blazing powder in little patches along 



54 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



the ground in the alley back of the store, I 
stood a three ounce bottle that was about one 
third full of gunpowder, upon the upper edge 
of a wagon wheel and deliberately walked up 
and dropped a lighted match into it. The 
bottle disappeared rather hurriedly, a piece of 
it catching Charley in the leg about twenty 
feet away, but I escaped untouched, except 
by fright. I have never been able to account 
for it, for I stood within reaching distance of 
the bottle and it gave me no time to plead 
exemption rights. 

Charley was older than I, by some three or 
four years, and though in for excitement, 
always needed somebody in the lead. I was 
willing to take all the risks and he was will- 
ing I should. One morning, while his father 
was off on his regular early round, Charley 
complained of some trouble inwardly and 
decided to take a couple of Ayer's pills as a 
remedy. Taking a box from the show case, 
he broke it open and took out two of the 
sugar-coated beauties. Placing one in his 
mouth he tried to swallow it; but the faces he 
made over the effort furnished a fund of 
amusement for me, and I twitted him over his 
babyishness, until he dared me to swallow 
one. Taking - the box out of his hand, I took 
out one of the pills and almost threw it down 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



55 



my throat, swallowing it quite easily. Then I 
took another and another, in bravado, until I 
had swallowed seven of them. Thinking 
those were quite enough for one meal I put 
the box away and kept bantering Charley 
over his cowardice, for a couple of hours, or 
until the appetite for fun left me, which 
occurred about the time of my uncle's return. 
On entering the store he looked at me in 
passing, and inquired what ailed me — said I 
looked pale. Just then I was feeling quite 
pale, but was determined to keep upright if 
possible. The effort was almost too much for 
me, however, and I will never be able to detail 
the agonies of that forenoon; for it would 
beggar my descriptive powers were the 
attempt made. About noon my uncle found 
me nearly dead, and taking me into the store, 
he mixed up an immense dose of cholera mor- 
bus medicine and made me down it without 
taking the glass from my lips. He had a 
name for the disease from which he said I was 
suffering — I have forgotten just what it was; 
but he said I would have soon been dead if he 
had not doctored me so promptly and lavishly 
One fact stays with me, and that is the cer- 
tainty that that dose had no ice in it. For 
about half an hour it seemed as if my breath 
could set snow on fire; but it was down to 



56 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



stay and it was better than the pil-grim feel- 
ing that preceded it. As if to add insult to 
injury, Charley would leer at me from behind 
the partition and repeat the motions I had 
made when taking those pills. He knew I 
dare not give the case away, and he enjoyed 
to the full the privilege of having his laugh 
last, after he learned that I had passed the 
danger line. 

On another occasion I filled a small vial 
with aqua ammonia, and carried it in my 
pocket to help keep the boys awake at night 
school. A neat perfume label adorned the 
outside of the bottle to encourage heavier sniff- 
ing when it was passed around. I need 
scarcely add that a second sniff was seldom 
called for. I received many a thump for my 
generosity and once a boy on whom I had 
played a trick with that bottle gave me a ter- 
rible blow in the pit of the stomach that made 
me sick of ammonia for a month, and cured 
me of the propensity for carrying it around to 
benefit others. Juvenile philanthropy was at 
a discount in those days, and, as a conse- 
quence, my career in that line was short lived. 

My uncle was a very precise man in his 
methods, and everything about his store must 
be kept in the neatest possible order. The 
windows had to be polished regularly; the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 57 



sponges had to be washed till the last speck 
of sand or pebble had been removed from 
them ; the powder papers had to be folded 
and creased almost to a mathematical exact- 
ness ; the sidewalk in front of the store had 
to be sprinkled and swept twice every day, 
and the counters dusted a score of times. It 
seemed to be as easy for uncle to move 
around among the goods without disturbing 
them as for him to walk; but on the other 
hand, it seemed that at the very sight of 
me the olive oil bottles would fall over and 
break, and the tumblers slip off the counter, 
and holes get into the seed packages and let 
the contents spill over the shelves or floor. 
Brush and dust and wipe as carefully as I 
might, it was a rare thing for a week to pass 
without something occurring to remind me 
that I was not yet ready to graduate in my 
uncle's line of business. The fact is I was a 
boy; and the more I think of those days and 
times the more I am convinced of that fact. 

A great many incidents come up now before 
me, which time and space forbid relating, and 
, which at that time made me think my uncle 
was a fearful man ; but mature reflection has 
led me to decide that the fearful part applied 
to the boy whose clumsiness he had so often 
to abide the consequences of. It used to 



58 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



seem hard for a boy to have to pass by an 
organ grinder with a monkey attachment, 
without stopping to watch the cute maneuvers; 
and it took only such a little while to stand 
half an hour after he had determined just to 
take a look. But it was nearly forty years 
since uncle had been a boy and he could not 
understand how I occupied forty minutes in 
going on a ten minute errand. He had for- 
gotten some things and I was very sorry his 
memory was failing so rapidly. Charley and 
I got permission, one day, to go and learn the 
whereabouts of a fire which seemed to be in 
the direction of my mother's home. It was 
shortly after noon when we left and about 
supper time when we returned. We had 
spent a good part of the time in pelting snow- 
balls at the burning building and in sporting 
with the crowd of boys we found near there. 
It seemed as if uncle must have been there 
too, for the way he did spit fire after our 
return was interesting. We were obliged to 
stand under it, however, and I can remember 
how like martyrs we felt and appeared. My 
aunt came and counseled with me afterward 
and tried to show me how improper it was to 
act in such a way, and reminded me of my 
agreement to be good. I was subdued — for 
the- time — and after supper started off to 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 59 



night school. Next morning uncle was as 
good natured as ever; but I was never 
allowed to run to any more fires. 

Among other duties falling to my lot, was 
the work of polishing or helping to polish the 
shoes for the entire family on Saturday even- 
ings. Being of strong pious inclination, my 
uncle would not allow such work to be done 
on Sunday. At the appointed hour I would 
retire to the basement kitchen and there, 
with Charley's help, shine em up in the 
most approved style — I mean the shoes — 
with one exception. One of my younger 
cousins, a boy of about five years, came 
down while this work was in progress one 
evening. He was clad only in a night- 
gown and came to say good night. After 
teasing about for a time, he somehow got 
across my knee and got blackened and shined 
till his hide resembled anything but alabaster, 
and with a whine he rushed upstairs to show 
his mother what Joe had done. It was but a 
moment before my aunt put in an appearance 
with a view to annihilating me ; but the ludic- 
rous picture of that boy as he stood beside 
her holding up his gown overcame her and 
she burst into a fit of laughter and left me 
only half scolded. She only helped to com- 
plete the scene, which to me resembled a 



60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



tableau at a negro minstrel performance, and 
I rolled on the floor and laughed outright till 
the tears ran down my cheeks, while Charley 
and the servant girl held their sides and 
shared the entertainment, scoring one for me 
as a victory over my aunt. She had come to 
annihilate, but had been annihilated. Of 
course it was wicked, awfully wicked ; but it 
happened, and can't be wiped out. Boys are 
better nowadays, but they are not required to 
shine about twenty pairs of shoes every Sat- 
urday night. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 61 



CHAPTER V. 

CAPERING NATURE. 

Saint Augustine! Well hast thou said 
That of our vices we can frame 
A ladder, ' * * * * * 
All common things — each day's events 
That with the hour begin and end, 
Our pleasures and our discontents 
Are rounds by which we may ascend. 

LOXGFELLOW. 

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must 
hammer and forge yourself one. 

Frotjde. 

It was while I was in my uncle's employ 
that my father returned to our home, after 
nearly six years' absence, and five months 
later, on the morning of May 16, he was taken 
sick while lathing a house some distance 
away. The doctor was called and everything 
possible done to stay the disease, which was 
called inflammation of the lungs; but he grew 
worse, steadily, until the morning of the 23d, 
when he died. When leaving the house early 
that morning I was told he was quite low ; so, 
after the ordinary routine of my morning's 
work at the store was through with, permission 
was given me to run home and see him. I 
hurried away as fast as possible only to find, 



62 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



on arrival, that the crape was already on the 
door. He had been dead nearly two hours. 
All the children but myself had seen him die, 
and they told me of his words of advice. I 
was only twelve years and a half old ; but the 
presence of death in our home made me feel 
peculiarly solemn and thoughtful. My 
thoughts were of mother. The resolution of 
my heart then and there was to be a good 
boy, and to be better to her than ever. 
Looking up into her careworn face the resolu- 
tion was that thereafter I would endure any- 
thing for her sake. Though wild and 
mischievous, and also inclined to be stubborn, 
yet I was neither vicious nor mean and a tear 
in my mother's' eyes would subdue the most 
wicked feeling my heart ever harbored. I 
knew she was afraid that my love of fun might 
lead me into places and company where my 
ruin would be wrought ; and she was always 
apprehensive lest my independent spirit would 
make me insubordinate towards my employers. 
She had plead with me to be patient, so that 
I might make a man of myself in time ; and, 
though but a child when my father was buried, 
I verily believe that the resolutions made 
about that time, God recognized, and that to 
some degree he has helped me to observe 
them ever since. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



63 



The feeling occasioned by my father's death 
was not as intense as if we had been depend- 
ent upon him in life ; but it was the first 
death in our family that I had been brought 
into direct contact with, and it started 
thoughts that, for a time, gave a more serious 
tone to my deportment. I had been fretting 
over my long hours of work and my few 
chances to get out among the boys for play, 
and was wishing for a break of some kind to 
occur by which freedom could be had. But 
my decision now was to be more patient and 
careful on mother's account, that I might help 
her and make her feel more safe about me 
and my future. Of course it was but a child's 
determination, and not reached after counting 
possible costs; but I never forgot it, though 
excuses were sought by me afterwards for 
conduct not in complete accord with it. 
Older boys than I then was have vowed and 
afterwards failed to perform. It is the history 
of humanity, but my failures have been none 
the less grievous on this account. The 
recollection of them is painful still as the 
trifling incidents which were allowed to cause 
them recur to the mind. The most serious 
question, however, is, "As a man how much 
wiser and better am I ?" 

I continued to work for my uncle for some 



64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 

time after this, and was progressing finely ; 
but, after some months, my restless, impatient, 
and independent spirit again asserted itself to 
my hurt. While mother was away nursing 
some sick friend I overslept myself one 
morning, and did not get to the store till 
nearly seven o'clock. This annoyed my uncle 
and he scolded me; and in his temper he told 
me to stay at home altogether if the offense 
was repeated. I was full of resentment and 
resolved to take him at his word, though 
knowing that he did not mean it. Arising 
late the next morning I did not go to the 
store at all, but spent the day playing with 
the neighbor boys, though my conscience 
kept reproving me, and the day was far 
from being a happy one. I cared but little 
about leaving the store, but felt guilty and 
more troubled because of having taken 
advantage of mothers absence to do it 
The next day she returned, and, learning of 
my conduct, felt terribly grieved and scolded 
me quite sharply. This made me feel resent- 
ful and determined for awhile and I went 
to bed feeling about as mean as boys well can. 

Very late that night, it must have been after 
one o'clock, I awoke, and, looking through the 
door into the room where a light was burning, 
I saw mother sitting and sewing. The tears 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 65 



were coursing down her cheeks. Soon she 
heaved a wearisome sigh and turned her eyes 
upward, with an imploring look that melted 
my heart. I knew she was thinking of and 
praying for me, and that my conduct was 
causing her the trouble that was written in 
her face. Jumping from the bed I ran to her 
side, threw my arms around her neck, con- 
fessed my wrong, and begged her to forgive 
me and not to weep. I would do anything 
that she required of me if she would only be 
cheerful. All the imaginary wrongs that had 
been heaped upon me, seemed to grow insig- 
nificant, and I realized how guilty, very guilty 
was my course, and that by one foolish stroke 
had been blasted my mother's fondest hope 
concerning me, and deliberately thrown away 
what she considered to be the golden oppor- 
tunity of my life. My promise to endure any- 
thing for her sake was broken and I was 
about as wretched as a repentant boy could 
well be. Poor mother, she placed her hand 
on my head and for a long time reasoned with 
me regarding the danger of my acting in such 
a way. She told how she had endured hard- 
ship, privation, and oppression for her chil- 
dren's sake; how her hopes had been 
centering largely in my success, and how fear- 
ful she was that my willfulness would rob me 

5 



66 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



of much good that might otherwise be within 
my reach. 

I listened willingly to all she had to say 
and then explained everything connected with 
the circumstance of my leaving the store- 
She then asked me to go back to my uncle 
next day and ask him to receive me back into 
his employ. To this I agreed, and, with a 
tear of hope glistening in her eyes she kissed 
me tenderly and bid me return to bed. 

Next day I went as agreed, but entered the 
building by the back way, fearing to confront 
my uncle before my aunt had interceded for 
me. Meeting her I told the object of my 
coming, and after a mild chiding she advised 
me to go in and tell my uncle of my anxiety 
to come back and my determination to be 
punctual in the future. I replied to my aunt 
that if told in that way it would not be the 
truth, for it was not my desire to return, but 
my mother wished me to, and for her sake I 
* would try to abide the rules my uncle had 
made. There was more honesty than diplo- 
macy in that remark; but it had a bad effect. 
She told me it would be no use to speak to her 
husband if such was the case ; for he would 
not want me if he knew it. She advised me 
to go home, and I returned there, feeling 
mixed in my mind. I had told the truth, and 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 67 



yet there was, or seemed to be, something 
wrong about it, and I dreaded the effect it 
would have on mother when she learned of it. 
To my surprise, however, when she heard my 
story, she did not appear either grieved or 
angry, but took it calmly and without uttering 
a word of complaint against me. Will the 
reader answer to him or herself whether that 
was a case where all the truth should not have 
been told by me, or was it an instance of 
injudiciousness on the side of my aunt? Was 
not a boy worth trying again and trusting 
who would surrender his own feelings to 
please his mother ? Doubtless she feared 
that my heart was not deeply enough in it to 
insure faithful service long and she may have 
been right; I was only a boy and boys forget 
so soon. 

Several weeks later I entered the wholesale 
confectionary store and factory of Mr. Wil- 
liam Hessin, but remained only three or four 
months, leaving then to take a position as 
route boy in the Daily Globe office where 
they gave me one of the regular runs, in 
which about one hundred and fifty papers 
were to be delivered every morning, beginning 
at about five o'clock. I generally got through 
by nine o'clock and then went to school for 
the remainder of the day. This was not for 



68 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



long, however, for I obtained a situation with 
a tinsmith, named George Sawdon, where my 
services were only needed in the afternoons 
and evenings. At this time my brother was 
also carrying a route in the same newspaper 
office, and it afforded a little more time for 
both of us to take recreation in such sport as 
was pleasant and available. After getting 
through with our morning delivery we had 
from nine till nearly two o'clock before it was 
necessary for me to commence my afternoon 
work at Mr. Sawdon's. We moved along 
finely while this programme continued, but 
after awhile my brother quit the newspaper 
carrying and went to learn his trade as a 
plumber, at which business he did not remain 
very long, however, for mother rented a store 
building from my uncle, Wallace Millichamp, 
next to his then place of business, and lightly 
stocked it with groceries, when my brother 
and myself entered my uncle's employ and 
worked at filing and preparing carriage irons 
preparatory to silver plating them. Soon tir- 
ing of this work I was for a time employed in 
the mailing room of the Globe office, after 
which I went to work in a cigar factory, for a 
Jew named Moses Benjamin, who lived next 
door to our home, and with whom I remained 
for about fifteen months. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 69 



During this time my mother married again. 
Her new husbands name was Edward De- 
vine, a printer by trade. Soon after this mar- 
riage the grocery business was dispensed with 
and we went back to live in the house from 
whence we had moved to the store. I still 
remained at the ci^ar business, however, for 
some time after the above event, and there 
learned to smoke, and so practiced upon my 
new acquirement that soon four or five cigars 
a day seemed not too much for me. This 
was kept from my mother, who would have 
been incensed had she discovered it. I also 
became addicted to the use of words that 
before would have seemed terrible to me. It 
got to be easy to swear, and the associations 
had a very demoralizing effect upon me in 
general ; though there were never more than 
half a dozen persons employed there at the 
same time, all of whom were considered 
respectable. 

The installation of a new president over 
our home circle created no unpleasantness 
for a considerable time ; but it was quite 
evident that sooner or later a scattering or a 
clash must occur. He was a man who would 
brook no variation by us from the rule he 
made, and in me was a disposition to~ view 
him as a usurper and to heed him as little as 



70 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



possible. This, of course, was wrong in me, 
and I have no disposition to defend it ; but it 
was apparent then and has been confirmed 
since that his spirit and mine could not har- 
monize. 

The first trouble of any importance that 
occurred between him and me happened thus: 
We were moving from one house to another. 
I had risen early to help get things in readi- 
ness, and while standing on the steps at the 
rear of the house polishing a stove, made an 
abrupt answer to a remark from my mother. 
My stepfather was lying in bed in a room 
close by. Jumping from the bed, he came 
out of the door, and struck me wickedly in 
the face with his hand. Seizing a large claw- 
hammer that was lying beside me, I fell back 
about a dozen steps and threw it at him with 
all my might. As it struck the door jamb 
close by him it seemed to frighten him, and 
he went back to his room, dressed, and 
started after me. With my pockets full of 
rocks I dodged from one corner of the street 
to another till he gave it up and returned 
home, and I went to my work for the day. 
At night he worked pleasantly with me till 
the moving was finished, but after we were 
all safely in bed at the new house, he came 
and thrashed me with a three-ply rope. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 71 



Being completely in his power I could do 
nothing except resolve; but what that resolu- 
tion was will never be told. Thank God it 
was never carried out. Mother came to me, 
and softened my bitter spirit. She was in a 
strait, and knowing it, I relented, for her 
sake. But she never knew what a demon was 
in my heart for a few days. After awhile the 
affair blew over and I lost my strong thoughts 
entirely, until they were revived by subse- 
quent events. 

One of the printers at the office where my 
stepfather worked rented a small job office up 
town and started business for himself. He 
needed a boy to help, and it was thought a 
good chance for me to learn an excellent 
trade. Being now fifteen years old it was 
high time for me to begin. Consequently I 
quit the cigar shop and started with Mr. 
Samuel Piddington and was duly installed as 
"devil" in the new office. Here, for the first 
time, a business was found for which I seemed 
adapted, and which presented suitable attrac- 
tions to my mind. The office was not large 
nor very modern in its appointments, but it 
was a wonder world to me; and I told 
mother she need look no further to suit me, 
for my intentions were to be a printer. I had 
a hand in every job that was done in the 



72 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



office, for there was no other help ; and the 
more I saw the cheater became the desire to 
see and learn. Mr. Piddinaton was a eood 
printer and a very good man ; but he was not 
.a business man; nor did he possess the faculty 
ior "rustling" around and making things lively 
in the way of trade. Hence we were fre- 
quently without enough to do to keep us 
active. We had a good time, however; for 
he was as mischievous as myself, and we fol- 
lowed our inclinations to excess sometimes. 
While working on a small Washington hand 
press one day I was rolling the ink on the 
form from one side while he stood upon the 
other, working the crank and lever. Just as 
I moved back from the press on one of my 
turns he drew a lone ink mark across mv face 
and started to laugh, but had hardly opened 
his mouth before the paste brush landed in 
the aperture. The paste was all of two 
months old and rather loud of expression, so 
as quickly as he could recover himself and his 
breath, he started after me. I shot down 
stairs, followed by two slippers, and dared not 
return until assured that the smoke had cleared 
away. When it was safe to do so I climbed the 
stairs again, apologized for my outrageous con- 
duct, and the press work proceeded. Mr. Pid- 
dington thought I came nearest to filling the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



73 



bill of his ideal "devil" of any lad he had ever 
seen. But we liked each other nevertheless ; 
and it was with regret that I found myself 
compelled to look elsewhere for work, after 
five months association with him. He could 
not make the office pay and therefore gave it 
up and took a situation where he had for- 
merly been employed. I obtained a situation 
in the Christian Guardian Office, and thus 
continued the business I had formed a fond- 
ness for. 

The Guardian was the organ of the \Yes- 
leyan Methodist Church in Canada. Attached 
to the paper was a large job printing office, 
where books, pamphlets, periodicals, and 
church documents of all kinds were printed, 
as well as commercial work orenerallv. Here 
was ample opportunity for learning the vari- 
ous branches of the business, and I applied 
myself as diligently as a boy of my disposi- 
tion could well do. One would naturally 
suppose that in a place of this kind the foster- 
ing influences of religion would be thrown 
around me, and that my better nature would 
be developed; but such was not the case. 
The only man in the printing office who made 
a profession of religion was the foreman, Mr. 
Thomas Wilson, who was a member of the 
church where I attended Sunday school. He 



74 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



seemed to take quite a fancy to me and tried 
to help me to an understanding of the busi- 
ness, so far as he had time and opportunity. 
All the rest of the men and boys were of the 
godless order, and as I was more in their 
company than in that of the foreman I drank 
more into their spirit, yet could not go with 
them to the excess of profanity and vileness 
that they indulged in. I could swear when 
vexed, and could maintain my reputation for 
juvenile deviltry; but there was always a 
restraining something that prevented my 
using the Creators name, or that of the 
Savior, in my reckless talk. Whenever mis- 
chief was on the tapis the boys could safely 
count on me ; and when, on Saturday after- 
noons, the big bucket of beer was brought into 
the engine room in the basement, I was on 
hand to respond to the frequent invitations to 
dip my tin cup in and drink until the bucket 
was empty. All this was slyly done, however,, 
for the rule of the establishment was against 
1 it. Let me say right here that I always loved 
the taste of liquor of every kind, and drank it 
whenever it was offered to me. The taste of 
it is pleasant to me to this day. On several 
occasions drink was taken until a dim uncer- 
tainty seemed to hang around me, though I 
never was fully overcome by it. The reason 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 75 



why I never became intoxicated is unknown 
to me, unless I was afraid to become so. I 
was then approaching an age when observa- 
tion and reason were urging their claims upon 
me for acknowledgment and respect, and con- 
science was continually arraigning me before 
its bar. My mothers prayers were beginning 
to count in my favor, and there always seemed 
to be a limit in every direction beyond which 
I dared not venture except when the boys 
were in for genuine sport. Then I would 
usually shut my eyes and "go it blind," as the 
sages told me. 

There were about ten persons employed in 
the job room, and six in the news room. On 
one occasion I somehow obtained possession 
of a bottle of Dr. Wolcott's catarrh snuff, 
which was rather slow in operating but re- 
markably vigorous and emphatic when once 
it got in motion. Passing quietly around 
among the men I gave to each a liberal 
"pinch" and then retired to the anteroom, 
from whence, through a partly opened door 
the cataclysm could be witnessed. There 
was scarcely time to notify the two other 
boys, when there was a fizz and a snap, and 
soon, as if by prearrangement, seven or eight 
heads simultaneously swayed backward and 
then suddenly forward, and every man ex- 



76 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



pressed himself as though he was trying to 
scare a regiment of cats from the premises. 
The foreman looked up from his desk and 
adjusted his spectacles just in time to take in 
the second round and sat watching with eyes 
bulging while about twenty rounds were fired 
over the whole room. Just as the job room 
hands reached about the fifth volley the news 
hands upstairs started in, and the scenery and 
music were simply immense. I am sure the 
foreman could not doubt the mens earnest- 
ness, for the tears were starting from their 
eyes, the handkerchiefs were kept afloat, and 
every man who had sneezed three or four 
times would return his head to position after 
the forward plunge, with a pathetic "ah-h-h," 
which was interrupted by the suddenness of 
another attack, until the curtain fell on the 
last act, and seven or eight clear-headed men 
resolved upon taking a course in religion — 
that is, they agreed upon an effort to suppress 
the "devil." By this time the "devil" had 
found his way down to the cellar and was 
waiting for the clouds to roll by before ven- 
turing near the stricken locality again. 

Such capers did not always end as harm- 
lessly as the above. Sometimes I came out 
of such ventures with the laugh on my side, 
but not always. One evening I stooped down 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 77 



and crept under the type frame to prod a 
workman on the other side with a pin and 
succeeded in starting him, but while working 
forward, one of the other boys jumped into 
my place just vacated, and threw his foot 
forward to give me a surprise from behind. 
Just as he did so I turned around to escape 
the man that was punctured with the pin and 
received the heel of my chum's foot right over 
my left eye, cutting quite a long gash. This 
tempered my ardor for such sport for a few 
hours at least. I was taken by one of the 
office hands to a druggist, who drew the parts 
together and secured them in position with a 
liberal supply of court plaster. Next morn- 
ing, when at the foreman's desk "holding 
copy," it was hard for me to keep track of the 
words, while he "read proof," on account of 
the soreness of my eye. But it was twice as 
hard to explain to him how the thing hap- 
pened, when he asked me for the particulars. 
Being rather an apt citizen, however, I was 
equal to the demand and gave him an outline 
of facts, leaving ample room for filling. He 
rewarded me with some expression of sympa- 
thy, but I rather thought or "felt" that there 
was a tinge of suspicion in the corner of the 
foreman's eve as he heard the account of 
the accident. But perhaps I could not see 



78 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



clearly, for my eye was bandaged and I did 
not look at him very closely during the 
recital. 

This was quite a setback, but did not pre- 
vent my participation in the carnival with 
some boys at night, in which a part was 
assigned me which was unique if not elegant. 
It was my duty, under the arrangements, to 
furnish bagpipes and the music characteristic 
thereof. With tin whistles and inverted 
chairs and every other conceivable and out- 
rageous thing, the boys went through the 
motions of playing band, while I walked 
around the crowd with the family cat under 
my left arm and the end of her anecdote in 
my mouth. A slight pressure of the teeth on 
the anecdote and a regular churning with the 
left arm on the ribs of the feline produced 
the closest imitation of the bagpipes that the 
boys had ever listened to and it was voted a 
success. Shameful! you say. So say I ; but 
that will not wipe it out. The boy did it. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 79 



CHAPTER VI. 
FROM NATURE TO GRACE. 

There is nothing more to be esteemed than a manly 
firmness and decision of character. T like a person who 
knows his own mind and sticks to it; who sees at once 
what is to be done in given circumstances and does it. 

Wm. Hazlitt. 

By this time the reader will begin to con- 
clude that such a lad as the last chapter por- 
trays was void of serious thought ; but at the 
risk of taking his breath, let me here state 
that my nightly prayers were never omitted 
and that hours were spent at times in deeply 
solemn thought about my spiritual needs. I 
record this, not from any desire to gain con- 
sideration for myself, but as a gentle hint that 
possibly all of the rattle-headed urchins upon 
whom so many denunciatory epithets are 
being poured to-day are not so utterly 
destitute of serious feeling as some of their 
judges may decide. Observation has con- 
vinced me that my case was not the world's 
exception. Some boy will look at this life 
picture and mistake it for a mirror. 

I was now sixteen years of age and on the 



80 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



eve of certain (the reader will think, neces- 
sary) changes. Even in my hilarity, I was 
thinking; and while those who were in any 
way interested in me were doubtless ready to 
give me up as incorrigible, I was feeling quite 
keenly the necessity for quitting some of 
my acquired habits. I saw in others the 
effects of liquor drinking, and had heard some 
persons say they could not break off from the 
indulgence. One man, not thirty years old, 
with whom I became quite intimately ac- 
quainted, seemed to really try hard and pray 
for freedom from the slavery of drink, but 
was apparently unable to pass a saloon with- 
out entering. His friends talked to him, 
prayed for him, and I heard him tell of his 
struggles, and finally saw him go to jail for 
stealing some clothing while he was drunk. 
He had asked in my hearing for the prayers 
of the church that he might get self-control, 
but he went down to disgrace and death under 
the blighting, paralyzing touch of the demon. 
I thought of that young man as he must have 
been once — a boy — and that he had liked the 
taste of liquor, and somebody had offered it 
to him ; and the appetite had grown with his 
years, until what he might easily have done 
at the age of sixteen he could not now do at 
all — he could not let it alone. He was a 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 81 



miserable, abject slave, and — to such a master. 
Reader, I prayed. 

It was customary then to set the tumblers 
of hot toddy down whenever visitors came 
to the house, and on one winter evening- 
this custom was being observed at our home.. 
While the glasses were being filled I was busy 
thinking, and my thoughts ran on till all but 
myself had emptied their glasses. One of the 
company urged me to drink while the liquor 
was warm. I hesitated, and made some kind 
of indifferent reply, which led another of the 
company to jokingly remark that "Joe" was 
"going to turn teetotaler. ,, This started a 
laugh and turned the attention of all present 
to me; and, of course, I was expected to l< get 
even" with them in my reply. They knew 
what I was at repartee and, therefore, were 
the more surprised when I deliberately pushed 
the glass from me and quietly said, 

"You may enjoy your laugh; I never intend 
to drink any more liquor." 

This rather sobered some of them and one 
asked, 

"Why, don't you like it?" 
To this was replied, 

"Yes, I do like it; and that's why I think it 
is time to quit." 

Many times has that answer been thought 



82 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



of by me since then; and though now forty 
years old, I do not think a better one could 
be framed by me impromptu than the one 
given before I was seventeen. My mother 
spoke out and said, 

''Stick to it my son ; your mother will never 
laugh at you nor ask you to drink." 

From that night, except as a medicine, 
strong drink has never crossed my lips, My 
thoughts had been maturing, and it only 
required the trifling circumstance of that 
time to provoke an expression to which I 
have felt myself honorably committed ever 
since. The last I saw of one of the young 
ladies who laughed at my boy talk that night, 
was a few years ago, when she bore the unde- 
niable traces of being a slave to appetite for 
liquor. 

About this time I went one Sunday to visit 
a family of acquaintances who lived about two 
and a half miles northwest of the city. Their 
name was Robinson. David, the father, and 
Betsy, the mother, had been kind friends to 
my mother when they formerly lived in the 
city. He had been a class leader for many 
years and was a man of sterling character, a 
little eccentric in his methods, but the soul of 
honor. His wife was of a different mental 
cast, nervous, excitable, always on the stir, but 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 83 



generous and sociable withal. At the time of 
the visit referred to, their daughter, Annie, 
was up into young womanhood. James, the 
son, was somewhere about my own age, and 
Asenath, the youngest child, was a girl of 
about thirteen or fourteen. 

My business was with James, or "Jim," as I 
familiarly called him then. Together we went 
over to Sunday school in a little room back 
of the small church building in which they 
worshiped; and what a contrast! I had never 
before been to a Sunday school where less 
than three to four hundred assembled. But 
here I was in a place that could not be made 
to hold over fifty ; and such a difference in the 
general appearance in the scholars and in 
their manners. I stared around the room 
until lesson time, and then took my seat 
beside Jim in one of the classes, with a dozen 
boys around us, all looking about as far 
removed from wealth as myself. Before a 
quarter of an hour more had passed I found 
myself interested, which had not been the 
case in eleven years of previous Sunday 
school life. I was interested and at home. 

From that day Jim and Joe almost grew 
together. For over six years. I walked that 
distance and kept my place in that Sunday 
school ; and that, too, from choice. There 



84 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OP 



was the turning point in my life ; and let 
others think as they may, I shall ever bless 
God for directing my steps thither. 

Some slight disaffection had occurred among 
them before the time of my visit, and pretty 
soon the usurpation and overbearance of cer- 
tain parties led about fifteen or more of the 
oppressed ones to sever their connection with 
the Wesleyan body, and to send for a Primi- 
tive Methodist minister to come and form 
them into a society, and to receive them 
into fellowship with the body of that 
name. This was done. My chum and I were 
among the number who felt "oppressed," — I 
suppose because his parents were, — and we 
attended the new school that was formed. A 
small cottage was rented, partitions taken out, 
and there, in that room, I spent the first 
happy hours, under religious experience, of 
my life. How we did sing in school; and the 
number of verses Jim and I would learnf 
Each had a good memory, and reciting a hun- 
dred or more verses on Sunday seemed but a 
small matter. 

No task was assigned us, but we loved to 
do it. All had something to do, and began to 
feel a measure of responsibility, which, by the 
way, is a secret worth knowing. Give a boy 
some token by which you make him feel that 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



65 



you set some value on his services, and that 
results depend upon his part, and, if he has 
any nerve and soul in him, you will call it out. 
But let him feel that he has no place but what 
could be filled as well with a storekeeper's 
dummy, and you will soon "freeze him out." 

Only a few weeks more passed before I was 
"converted" at a revival service in that cot- 
tage, and soon my name was enrolled as a 
member of the church. The bitterest night 
of those Canadian winters was never cold 
enough, nor did the snow ever fall deep 
enough, nor the sleet pelt wickedly enough, 
to prevent me from footing it after the day's 
work was done, to and from those meetings. 
Saturday evenings I would go out to Mr. 
Robinson's, and there remain over night, to 
be on hand next morning early for Sunday 
school and class meeting; and many of the 
blessings of those days stay with me and are 
helps to this hour. 

Poor Jim, he couldn't become converted so 
quickly. He kept going to the mourner's 
bench every time a protracted meeting was 
held, and he would pray fervently, and listen 
to the advisers who gathered around him; 
but yet didn't unite. The fact is the boy had 
too much sense — hard sense — to take a "stone 
for bread," and he was too honest to profess 



86 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 

what he did not possess. During one of those 
"times of refreshing" I was sent to talk him 
into an understanding of the conversion idea. 
But what a job it was. The conversation ran 
about thus: — 

"Can't you let go everything and rest on 
Christ?" 

"What do you mean by letting go — let go 

what?" 

"Let go of all hope of saving yourself, and 
simply believe on Jesus," 

"That's what they've been telling me for 
nine years. Now I don't expect to be able to 
save myself; but what am I to believe?" 

"Believe he died to save you." 

"I've believed that all my life ; what else is 
necessary ?" 

"Believe that he saves you now." 

"What, without feeling any different than I 
have done ?" 

"Never mind the feeling ; just believe that 
God, for Christ's sake, has saved you; and you 
are saved right then." 

"Now, joe, honestly,— is — is that all you 
did?" 

"That's all, Jim." 

"And the happiness came just as soon as 
you believed that way ?" 
"Exactly." 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 87 



"My, how long I've been finding out that 
simple idea ; I'll try it, Joe." 

A young minister was present, and I 
appealed to him to go and supplement my 
dialogue with Jim. He did so ; and I am 
strongly persuaded that Jim plied him about 
as he did me, for after leaving him, the minis- 
ter asked the people to rise from their knees 
and listen to him ; whereupon he said: — 

"It does seem ridiculous to ask a person to 
believe he is saved before he feels any evi- 
dence of it, but such is our duty, and if there 
is anything else needed by the repentant soul 
I know nothing of it." 

He was in the same fix as myself ; and I 
never forgot his remark. After that time he 
filled acceptably several churches for the 
Methodists, but later on, for education's sake, 
he joined the Presbyterians, and occupied 
their pulpit at Pingree Grove, Illinois ; Mid- 
dleton, Iowa ; the First Scotch Church of 
Chicago ; and is now pastor of a church not 
far from London, Ontario. I wonder if that 
admission satisfies people everywhere. He was 
honest in stating it, and it was as "ridiculous" 
as he admitted it seemed. Contrast such 
counsel with that given by Jesus, and Paul, 
and Peter, and how supremely "ridiculous" it 
sounds. 



88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



But Jim "got through" at that meeting, and 
I was relieved and happy. He is there yet; 
though the cottage was afterwards abandoned, 
and we built a church; then the Methodist 
churches united in Canada, and a large church 
building now stands on the old corner where 
the writer once happily and humbly wor- 
shiped as a Primitive Methodist. 

Becoming converted, as above related, I 
took my stand firmly against the old forces 
that had been swaying me, and it was soon 
noticed in the printing office that a change 
had come over me. They could not make 
me swear, and I left whenever they started to 
tell vulgar stories. Finally, whenever they 
pressed me with old time methods, I told 
them squarely that I had turned over a new 
leaf, joined the church, and was going to try 
to live a Christian life. One or two of them 
commended my course and told me to stick 
to it; but the others would delight in singing 
hymns, offering mock prayers, mixing up most 
foul and blasphemous stories with Scriptural 
quotations. To this they would add all they 
could think of from my former doings and 
sayings; unholier medleys were never impro- 
vised than those which greeted my ears when- 
ever I was at work near them. 

Reader, it was a terrible fight. To hear 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 89 

funny things and not laugh, lest you yield the 
adversary a point. To be twitted, and, while 
able to give back with usury, yet to refrain 
from utterance, lest you betray your cause to 
gratify self. To have all kinds of nasty, mean 
things said and done to you to make you 
angry, and yet keep your lightning temper 
under subjection for fear of exposing your 
Master to shame. To begin right where you 
had mixed up with the wild, the profane, and 
the godless, and hold out against the tide- 
forces you had helped to augment, is noble 
work, and heroic in autobiographies; but it 
has a side to it that is by no means poetic. 
It is prosaic, to the broader line of cruci- 
fixion. 

To erect a royal or lofty character-standard 
is within the scope of nearly all mortals who 
are fairly up in "ideality;" but there must be 
other sources than imagery from whence to 
draw when the conflict, precipitated by your 
effort to climb there and "hold the fort," is at 
its heat ; otherwise you only build and enter 
to vacate and surrender in disgrace. I had 
registered for the fight, long or short ; and, 
though only a boy, God helped me. I do not 
mean by this that I maintained my standard 
and kept the banner high always; but I so 
far succeeded that those around me finally 



90 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



gave up the idea of getting me back under 
their control ; and I believe they admired my 
course. 

I became more attentive to my work, and, 
being of an accommodative disposition, the 
foreman found me willing to take hold of any 
job, whether it was directly in the line of my 
regular duties or not. Therefore, part of the 
time I was in the job room, next in the news 
room, then at the presses; afterwards in the 
mailing room, or down in the engine room; 
and thus I picked up a knowledge of various 
branches, such as less willing apprentices 
remained ignorant of. Besides this my wages 
were increased faster than was the common 
rule of the office, and thus ample reward came 
to me for enduring for right's sake. 

I remained in this office about three years 
and seven months, or until four years had 
been spent at the business. Just then the 
great printers' strike for a nine hour day 
occurred, and foolishly, as it now seems, I 
allowed myself to be influenced against the 
advice of my old friend, the foreman, and left 
with the strikers. On the last Saturday of 
our work before the strike he came and 
handed me my wages. The tears were in his 
eyes when he put out his hand and shook 
mine, and he said, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 91 



"I thought you would have stayed with me, 
my lad ; but good-bye." He left me, and I 
wished at that moment to stay ; but my word 
was pledged ; and I really believed that the 
cause of the strikers was just. I regretted it 
afterwards ; but it was too late to mend the 
mistake. The old man afterwards gave me 
work when I applied to him, and he favored 
me all he could in that direction. 

When passing through Toronto on my way 
to the Eastern mission last September I 
called on my old friend and spent a few hours 
with him. He is now over seventy years of 
age ; but he still holds a place in the same 
office, though the position of foreman is now 
held by another. My visit delighted him ; 
and I was made glad to think that he still had 
a warm place in his heart for the lad who had 
caused him tears some twenty years before. 
The thought that I remembered him enough 
to visit him gave him peculiar delight, and we 
parted, each having the other's blessing on 
his head. May life be his while it is desirable, 
and may his end be peace. 

Soon after my union with the church my 
Brother John followed me to the little chapel, 
and he, too, was captured and enrolled as a 
member. This was added comfort for me. 
He became as deeply interested as myself, 



92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



and the time went happily on. Let others 
tell of their doubts and dissatisfaction regard- 
ing the doctrines of the churches they were in ; 
and of how they looked and hoped for some- 
thing better and more consistent. Let them 
tell of how they were prepared thus for the 
"fullness of the gospel" when it saluted their 
ears ; but I must tell the truth about myself, 
though it may make me appear intellectually 
deficient. I was contented, was indeed happy, 
never once stopping to think that there might 
be something lacking, or something superflu- 
ous about my religion. To me it was pre- 
sented as a divine system, and it was so 
accepted, without question. 

And, permit me to state here, that as I now 
look back upon it and its influence upon my 
character at that critical formative period, I 
tearfully raise my eyes towards heaven and 
bless the day, and the circumstances, and the 
people that conveyed it and its influences to 
my heart and life. Defects it has many; 
inconsistencies are inwrought with each fiber 
of its doctrinal fabric; anomaly is stamped 
upon its organic and governmental policy ; 
and, compared with the order, symmetry, and 
general excellence of all appointments of the 
divine government under which, as a Latter 
Day Saint, I now worship, it pales into seem- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 93 



ing insignificance; but notwithstanding all 
this, it was a medium through which forces 
were introduced to my character such as 
changed, cleansed, and fixed it at least on the 
side of goodness, and under God, it proved an 
effective stepping-stone to the higher spiritu- 
ality, the diviner philosophy, and the greener 
pasturage found within the realm of the 
Church of Jesus Christ. 

While this tribute is paid cheerfully and 
deservedly to the religion of my first choice, 
do not let the conclusion be hastily reached 
that my life was changed suddenly by* it from 
nature to grace, nor that my roguish disposi- 
tion was entirely eliminated by its influence. 
A fear lurks with me that quite a measure of 
that element will characterize my individuality 
till the final change comes. 



94 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



CHAPTER VII. 

NEW RESPONSIBILITIES. 

O fortunate, O happy day, 
When a new household finds its place 
Among the myriad homes of earth, 
Like a new star just sprung to birth, 
And rolled on its harmonious way 
Into the boundless realms of space! 

LOXGFELLOTV. 

"If a man is thoroughly Christian, the nerve that 
runs from his brain to his wallet will be just as much 
Christianized as the one that runs from his brain to his 
tongue. ' ' 

The struggle to overcome the evil within 
my character was a hard one. My inclinations 
were strong; but never did the thought occur 
to me to give up. I had entered for life and 
was determined to make the best showing 
possible. If my temper got the better of me 
at times, or a swear word escaped my lips, 
while it mortified me, it never had the effect 
of discouraging me, for the conviction was 
settled within me that it was possible to over- 
come and the wonderful change that had been 
wrought already argued in favor of still bet- 
ter results if the fight was continued ; hence 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 95 



every lapse only stimulated renewed energy 
to fight harder in future. 

On the evening of my eighteenth birthday, 
while walking along the main road leading to 
the chapel, my mind ran out over the past, 
and humiliation filled me as the thought of 
my unworthiness pressed upon me. Wonder- 
ing what my future would be and how far my 
life could contribute to the good of others, I 
lifted my hat and in humble prayer conse- 
crated myself anew to God for Ufe, asking 
faith and courage to abide in righteousness. 
The consciousness seemed to be then with 
me that my main life service would be with 
the church. 

Soon after this the presiding minister noti- 
fied me that by action of the quarterly board 
my name had been placed on the printed 
preachers' plan, and several appointments to 
exhort and preach had been made for me, 
which were indicated by the figure shown on 
the plan, corresponding with that set oppo- 
site my name. When a copy of the paper 
reached me, sure enough, there was the entry 
and arrangement for several services; and, 
accepting the honor, I prepared myself to fill 
them, believing it to be a duty divinely 
imposed. This was my "call" to the ministry, 
and from that time till my twenty-third year 



96 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



I continued as a local preacher, with varying 
success. I was also made a Sabbath school 
teacher, afterwards assistant superintendent • 
then a class leader and society steward, and 
continued to hold these offices until my resig- 
nation was tendered the church in 1876. 

After being out on a strike with the printers 
for about two weeks, I was approached by my 
stepfather who was then publishing a weekly 
paper and conducting a job printing office. 
He offered me all that was demanded by me 
as a striker, and a fair salary, to take charge 
of his business. I accepted, and continued 
with him for about two years or more, except 
at intervals when we disagreed and I refused 
to work for him. He was a man with enter- 
prise sufficient to push a very large business, 
but had not moral ballast enough to steady 
or maintain a very small one. 

His knowledge of printing was limited to 
the duties of a newspaper compositor; job 
printing and machinery were out of his prac- 
tical range, but by no means beyond the realm 
of his conceit. Nothing was too formidable 
for him to undertake, but anything was too 
heavy for him to carry if it involved moral 
responsibility. As a stepson I was expected 
to take a deeper interest in his, business than 
a stranger would ; and at the same time be 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 97 



willing to go without my wages oftener, and 
to do it without complaint. His irregularity 
and his unreasonable exactions frequently 
exhausted my reserve store of piety, and with 
temper at white heat I would manifest my 
indignation ; if it did not effect anything, I 
would leave his employment and go else- 
where. This occurred several times; but in 
each instance the trouble was followed by a 
reconciliation and by his promise of larger 
wages, prompt payments, and better treat- 
ment, till the culmination hereafter referred 
to was reached and our business relations ter- 
minated for a long time. 

Meanwhile my work on Sundays and week 
evenings, as local preacher, etc., was con- 
tinued, and a little matter of a more private 
or personal character was also being devel- 
oped. 

John Parker and his wife, Elizabeth, the 
former a Scotchman and the latter a Lower 
Canadian, lived close by our cottage chapel, 
with their six children. By some appoint- 
ment of heaven, or fortunate happening of 
earth, (or as I now believe, both,) my atten- 
tion was specially drawn to their second 
daughter, Janet; and the attraction proved to 
be mutual. We were but children when we 
met; she was but fourteen and the writer not 

7 



98 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



seventeen. As such, however, our inclination 
for each other's society was sufficiently strong 
to bring us often together, till friendship, with 
passing years, ripened into that kind of affec- 
tion which made us believe that we were des- 
tined for each other, and led us to conclude 
that in time our lives would run together. 
Her parents were members of the little 
Methodist Church; and, through the writer's 
influence, she was finally led to an acceptance 
of the religion we all then believed to be 
right. Our companionship was favored by 
her parents, and we were happy as little tur- 
tle doves. 

Some time after or about the year 1871, 
John Parker and wife moved to London, 
Ontario, taking with them the four younger 
children, and leaving the two older daughters 
behind to board with their grandparents. 
This latter arrangement was made to allow 
them to continue at their employment in a 
shop that was quite close to our chapel. Of 
course this was quite satisfactory to the 
writer, and not at all objectionable to at least 
one of the girls. Grandfather and grand- 
mother lived next door to the chapel, and 
everything was as convenient as if some good 
spirit had ordained it specially for our benefit. 
The old lady, with knitting in her hands and 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 99 



spectacles low down on her nose, would 
generally seat herself directly opposite our 
familiar corner in the cottage, and over the 
bows of her glasses would cast frequent 
glances at the "innocents at home," doubtless 
enjoying our reproduction of the scenes in 
which she had participated in <l ye olden tyme." 
Her cheery remarks and pleasant smiles indi- 
cated as much, and we rather prided ourselves 
in our succcess at double service, considering 
our own joy first, but feeling delighted over 
the measure also furnished to her. But, as 
my writing is not designed for a modern love 
story, I must brush aside, for the readers 
sake, this soft-colored picture, and proceed 
with the main recital. 

My career as a Methodist preacher was not 
without occasional evidences of strange and, 
to me, divine supervision. In company with 
a fellow preacher, William Matthews, I went 
in a buggy once to fill some appointments, 
twenty miles west of the city. After per- 
forming the required service, to our mutual 
happiness, we were returning at night, chat- 
ting pleasantly together. It was very dark, 
and the rattle of the buggy drowned all other 
sounds. A high bank ran along the left side 
of the road, and by it all objects were hidden 
from us, even though they might be suffi- 



100 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ciently luminous to overcome the darkness. 
Suddenly, and without any reason that I have 
ever been able to assign, an impulse seized 
me to draw on the rein and stop the horse, 
which was going at quite a rapid gait. 
Hardly had the animal been checked before 
there dashed from behind the bank at our 
left a locomotive and freight train, and not 
more than ten feet ahead of us it crossed our 
path directly ; nor did the whistle sound till 
the train had run its full length beyond our 
road. 

The sudden flash of the headlight in the 
face of the horse caused her to plunge and 
rear for a moment until we succeeded in 
turning and letting her go in the opposite 
direction for a few hundred yards. After 
recovering from the shock thus produced, we 
turned and hastened along as before. After 
a few moments Bro. Matthews asked me why 
I had so suddenly stopped the horse. I was 
unable to answer him ; for I had heard no 
sound and seen no reflection. After a mo- 
ment's thought he said: — 

"Evidently, Bro. Luff, we have a work yet 
to do ; for which God has remarkably pre- 
served us. I hope we may find it out, and be 
faithful in doing it." 

To this I responded with an. amen that 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 101 



would have attested my Methodism anywhere. 
Whether there was anything special about it 
or not, I am unable to affirm ; but that there 
was cause for gratitude I know, and I freely 
offer it to Him who at least permitted it to so 
occur. 

The degree of success attending my labors 
as a local preacher, and the calls for a more 
frequent appearance of my name on the forth- 
coming plans (which were issued quarterly) 
led the minister in charge to urgently press 
me to give my life entirely to ministerial 
work. He spoke flatteringly of my ability, 
and seriously of my call, as evidenced by my 
success ; and, after many months of persua- 
sion, he almost led me to believe that perhaps 
I ought to drop everything else and become 
an itinerant minister. 

The law of the church required that young 
men who entered the regular ministry should 
remain four years on probation, during which 
time they were required to go through a 
course of graded studies ; and they only 
received a very small allowance or salary. 
This salary was not more than sufficient to 
barely provide necessary books and clothing. 
Of course this made it impracticable for a man 
to marry ; and it formed a barrier against the 
reception of married men. If, at the end of 



102 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



his probation, he passed the examination pre- 
scribed he was ordained and his salary 
increased. There was, I believe, a fixed mini- 
mum limit to this; but the maximum was to 
be reached and determined by the market 
value of the man's attractiveness as a preacher, 
and the ability and willingness of his church, 
or circuit, to pay him. In other words, he 
received above the stipulated allowance what- 
ever he could command by virtue of his 
talents. 

While I was willing to take all chances, 
and to make the necessary sacrifices in this 
matter, one thing- troubled me, — Did God 
want me to do it; was I called to that minis- 
try ? This question puzzled me. The minis- 
ter and other earnest advisers reasoned with 
me that my success proved my call. I replied 
that if such was the case then the measure of 
a man's success must prove the genuineness 
of his call, and the acceptability of his doc- 
trine. I knew that a certain Baptist minister 
near there had made more converts than any 
of our ministers ; that a certain evangelist had 
secured still more ; and, -beyond all, a noted 
infidel in that city had outstripped every min- 
ister, and had taken followers from all our 
societies. If success was the criterion, then 
the Baptist had a surer call than our minis- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 103 



ter; and, if so, the doctrine of his church was 
more acceptable to God. The evangelist was 
still ahead of him, and the infidel was leading 
all ; so, with only the "success" idea to 
measure by, I had to seriously consider 
whether or not our "holy religion" was not at 
a discount in the estimation of God. 

Just at this time a circumstance occurred 
one evening which made further worry on the 
above score needless. My stepfather, in one 
of his fits of ungovernable passion, rushed at 
my youngest sister (then a mere child) and 
was about to punish her severely and unrea- 
sonably for some trifling offense. Hearing 
him advance towards her, after some boister- 
ous threatening, I rushed down stairs and 
instantly stood in his way, with a threaten- 
ing gesture. This unexpected interference 
heightened his wrath, and he turned his 
attention to me, uttering a most unworthy 
threat. I posed for war, my temper at boiling 
point, and determined to finally settle all 
claims against him for what I considered his 
many acts of tyranny and abuse, both to me 
and to my younger -sisters, as well as concern- 
ing his unfair treatment in business. My 
religion was forgotten ; I was arrayed for 
revenge, and he saw it. He knew me too 
well to risk very much, and I would not have 



104 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



trusted him within the limit of his power. 
Just as we struck at each other, my mother 
— poor mother — rushed between us and 
fainted. Perhaps it was providential ; for it 
suddenly checked our movements, and I 
turned my attention to bringing her back to 
consciousness. By the time this was accom- 
plished my temper had subsided and I felt 
ashamed, though I tried to justify myself. 
Poor mother, she was in a dilemma. He was 
her husband — I was her son. She knew that 
a stage had been reached in our relations 
where she could no longer feel safe as to our 
conduct towards each other, either in her 
presence or absence; and her heart was 
broken. I saw it, and hated him the worse 
for it. Perhaps he felt so toward me also. 
He ordered me to leave the house and I 
refused and dared him to carry out his threat 
to compel me. An appointment or engage- 
ment had been made for me that night and 
when the time came to leave I told mother I 
would return about eleven o'clock. My step- 
father said I should not enter the house ; but 
my answer assured him that there were no 
fears in my mind on that score. 

Leaving the house I walked out to the little 
chapel neighborhood, a couple or more miles 
away, thinking and wondering, and disgusted 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



105 



with myself. I had fallen below the standard 
of manhood I had erected ; I had violated my 
covenant as a Christian ; I had been a party 
to a transaction that had added a pang to the 
heart of the mother I most tenderly loved. I 
stood before the bar of my conscience con- 
demned and disgraced. Reason as I might 
that my stepfather was wrong and cruelly 
wrong, and pile up, as I could, a long list of 
unjust acts upon his part ; and knowing as I 
did that my mother was totally ignorant of 
much concerning him that was only too well 
known to me ; still I was wrong — wrong — 
wrong, and could not escape the conviction. 
I had dishonored my religion ; and for a time 
I seemed to literally abhor myself. My heart 
was bitterness itself. The mixed feelings of 
revenge, self-justification, remorse, and dis- 
grace were indescribable. However, before 
reaching the end of my journey, I had deter- 
mined to either leave at once for California, 
to join my Uncle Ben there, or to settle down 
in a home of my own. I could not consent to 
longer remain at home while my stepfather 
was there ; and the only question was what 
change to make for the best. 

Upon meeting the one who might be af- 
fected by whatever change occurred, I related 
to her the entire story concerning the colli- 



106 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



sion, the bitterness felt, and the resolution 
made, leaving her to decide the matter within 
the coming week as to whether I should leave 
for the West, or we should marry and make a 
home of our own. Only one question was 
seriously to be considered: We were young; 
she had not long entered her eighteenth year, 
and I was but twenty; I had a trade, how- 
ever, and she understood housekeeping, hav- 
ing been employed in that line for some time 
prior to beginning the more profitable work 
she was now engaged in. 

Having thus submitted the matter to her 
and filled the engagement I returned home 
and found no difficulty in entering. That 
night was spent in anything but a restful or 
pleasant state of mind. There was a severe 
struggle going on, but by the morning my 
resentfulness had been conquered and, going 
down to the office, I determined to make 
amends, as far as possible, for my part of the 
wrong, whether my cause was just or not- 
Certain it was my methods were wrong. I 
now think that it was the biggest victory I 
had up to that time ever achieved over self. 
I waited till the arrival of my stepfather,, 
entered his private office, and there confessed 
to him frankly that I was ashamed of myself, 
my acts had been unchristian ; and I was 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 107 



sorry indeed. My purpose was to redeem my 
religion and manhood from the disgrace to 
which I had subjected them. But if the effort 
had been aimed directly towards crushing and 
humiliating him, it could not have succeeded 
more completely. Astonished beyond meas- 
ure, he looked and listened, then stretched 
forth his hand and shook mine warmly. 
He took all the blame on himself, but 
explained and apologized, and uttered many 
regrets, and promised better treatment in 
the future. He expressed his admiration 
of me and my action in coming to him, 
and he paid a tribute to the religion that 
could so work in a man of my disposi- 
tion. All this was in excess of my anticipa- 
tion ; and though my knowledge of the man 
allowed me to repose but little confidence in 
the permanency of his good feeling and con- 
duct, yet somehow I felt that my duty was 
done. 

I wanted, however, to leave home while the 
good feeling lasted. Upon telling mother 
what I had done her tender heart melted at 
the recital. Undoubtedly she knew some- 
thing of the nature of the struggle I must 
have had before humbling myself under such 
conditions. The expression of gladness that 
lit up her dear face, and the tears of joy that 



108 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



fell from her eyes, voiced to me in distinct 
articulation the relief she found in the new 
hope thus begotten. I was thus more than 
rewarded; but I was afraid to trust myself 
very far in the old direction. 

These incidents may be of but trifling inter- 
est to the reader, and are only mentioned 
here, because, painful as they appear, and dis- 
creditable to the writer as some of them 
undoubtedly were, they seem, as I now look 
back upon them, to have been operative 
causes tending to certain results, which, if not 
appointed, were certainly overruled by Provi- 
dence as a means to a desirable end. 

After a week had passed, and the use of 
some little persuasion on my part, Miss Par- 
ker concluded that I had better not go to 
California; so we agreed upon a date, three 
months ahead, when we should become one. 
Accordingly, after obtaining the parental con- 
sent, we made preparations. The time passed 
gloriously on until May 23, 1873, when to- 
gether we went to London, Ontario, and on 
the following day, at the residence of her 
parents, and in the presence of all the family, 
celebrated the birthday of Queen Victoria by 
getting married, Rev. W. S. Hughan of the 
Methodist Church officiating. Having fur- 
nished and left a home ready for occupancy, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 109 



we returned in a few days to Toronto, and 
began life under our own rooftree. 

This occasion of so much joy to us was one 
of regret to the presiding minister; for it 
spoiled all his calculations concerning my 
entering the regular ministry. No married 
men need apply; so I continued as a local 
preacher. Trivial as this occurrence may 
appear to some, as they read, it appears 
before my mind as an important link in the 
chain of providential circumstances which 
held me for a day then future, and for a 
service then unknown to me. Had I entered 
the regular itinerancy at that time, it is im- 
possible to tell whither the influences of that 
kind of life would have led me; what preju- 
dices its associations would have strength- 
ened within me, and how far my will would 
have been steeled against the golden truth of 
after revealment. It is not for me to divine 
whether I should ever have become obedient 
to the gospel of the Son of God when it 
finally came to me, or not. All I really know 
is that it closed the door referred to against 
me, for which I now thank God. It will be 
seen later on that certain spiritual good came 
in consequence of it, by which my career as 
a Latter Day Saint was the more easily 
commenced. 



110 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



Our new home life was started by a conse- 
cration of ourselves and interests to Christ. 
We believed the hand of our heavenly Father 
had brought us together ; and, though such a 
law as tithing was not heard of in the church, 
we gathered knowledge concerning it from 
the Bible, and had placed in a secluded part 
of our home a box which we called the Lord's 
box, and so labeled it. Into this we regularly 
put one tenth of my weekly earnings, to be 
used for church purposes alone; and when its 
contents were found insufficient, we added 
thereto ; but the tenth was held sacred for 
that purpose. I have since wondered why 
this was done; for there was not another 
member of the church who believed in, or 
practiced it, that we are aware of. Was this 
also a work of preparation? 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. Ill 



CHAPTER VIII. 
APPROACHING THE TRUTH. 

There lives more faith in honest doubt, 
Believe me, than in half the creeds. 

He fought his doubts and gathered strength, 
He would not make his judgment blind, 
He faced the spectres of the mind 

And laid them: thus he came at length 
To find a stronger faith his own. 

Tennyson. 

. Subsequent to the events noted, and as 
the result of another serious unpleasantness 
with my stepfather in regard to business mat- 
ters, I held several interviews with a Mr. 
Robert S. Weir, who had been bookkeeper in 
the same office, but who had become very 
much dissatisfied with the manner in which 
things were being conducted. Like myself 
he was also ambitious, and was seeking 
opportunity to improve his condition finan- 
cially. Both of us had determined to quit my 
stepfathers employ ; and, understanding each 
other as we did, it was but natural that we 
should suggest a coalition for mutual advan- 
tage. He was a competent accountant and 
fine business man, whose honesty and integ- 



112 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



rity I had full confidence in. The result of 
our interviews was that together we left my 
stepfathers employ, and, forming a partner- 
ship, we purchased a small job printing plant 
and commenced business under the firm name 
of Weir and Luff, in the west end of the city, 
far distant from the location of our old em- 
ployer's office. 

Our hope was to build up a business for 
ourselves, without directly affecting his, but 
he either failed to note that fact or was too 
reckless to respect us in an honest effort to 
strike out for ourselves, hence he tried to 
give us all the trouble he possibly could. 

Finding that we had not only gone, but 
gone beyond recovery, he became enraged 
and in his frenzy moved his business from the 
center of the city to a point still west of us, 
where he hoped to ''freeze us out." His 
methods, however, were hurtful to himself; 
for he took work at prices that would not 
cover original outlay for material ; and after 
considerable time his business collapsed and 
the entire plant was disposed of under the 
sheriff's hammer. 

Meanwhile our business prospered and 
improved. Additional facilities were added, 
which of course involved quite an outlay; but 
our credit was good, and by dint of honesty 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 113 



and push we succeeded admirably. The 
Methodist Church at that end of the city 
gave us the benefit of its. patronage and influ- 
ence, and I was bidding fair to reach some 
day the goal of my earlier ambition, namely,, 
an independent position in point of wealth ; 
that is, the start in that direction was encour- 
aging. 

Our church work was also keeping pace 
with the progressive elements around it, and 
the little cottage chapel in which we had 
been worshiping soon proved too small for 
us. Accordingly a new site was purchased 
and a more sightly and commodious building 
was erected thereon. The old building was 
again converted into a tenement, and was 
purchased some time afterwards, together 
with the premises adjoining, by the writer. 

Thus my wife and I became the possessors 
of the home in which we had wooed and won 
each other, and also the one in which both of 
us had gone through the processes incident to 
a genuine Methodist conversion. Into one 
house we moved, and the other we rented. 
We were now looking out upon the future 
with much to encourage, while happiness 
smiled pleasantly upon and within our home, 
into which two additional ones had entered, a 
son and daughter. 

8 



114 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



My success as a preacher had not waned, 
and again I was besought to enter the regular 
ministry. I was now in a condition to sup- 
port myself and .family for four years of proba- 
tion, if my business and home were sold; 
hence the main objection was lifted, and the 
old question came back — Am I called to t licit 
work? If I could have been satisfied in that 
regard everything would have been quickly 
disposed of, and I should have gone forth 
trusting in God. The good minister in 
charge, Rev. Thomas Griffith, visited and 
conversed with me earnestly about the matter; 
I was in a state of doubt, but honestly pray- 
ing for light on the matter. 

Just then a letter from the parents of my 
wife brought with it a leaflet on which was 
printed an epitome of the faith of the Reor- 
ganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day 
Saints. These old Methodists of twenty or 
more years standing had joined that body, 
and in their anxiety to do good had sent this 
little leaflet, with a request that it be read. 
It was soon followed by a few others, which I 
read, as did my wife, and, though impressed 
with the apparent Scripturalness of the doc- 
trines set forth therein, I maintained a show 
of indifference regarding the matter. The 
peculiar character of the testimonies borne by 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 115 



the letter writers struck me, however, as 
remarkable ; but in my replies I confined my- 
self to a criticism of the doctrine and a light 
ridicule of the testimonies. This was done 
more to draw out the defense and give me a 
clearer insight into the stranee doctrine than 
to oppose from a disposition to belittle or 
denounce. More tracts came after a time, 
revealing new evidence and awakening a 
deeper interest. I read whenever opportunity 
offered, and examined the Bible carefully in 
search of weapons with which to crush or 
annihilate the new faith. Not that I felt any 
special dislike. for the doctrine; but my pride 
made me anxious to find something where- 
with to defend the faith to which I was 
already committed; and to defend one was to 
annihilate the other. I hated to confess in 
letters that my religion was without Scriptural 
warrant. 

My first study and writing was done out of 
respect for those who had shown such a kindly 
interest in me ; but the discoveries made 
thereby led me to a closer investigation and 
comparison of church doctrines ; and my 
interest increased proportionately. The re- 
sult was painful; for I discovered for the first 
time that the religion my mother had taught 
me was defective. It did not require many 



116 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF 



days of searching to reach this conclusion. 
Whether the church publishing those tracts 
was right or not, one thing was certain, and 
that hurt me; namely, If the Bible was cor- 
rect my religion was in many respects incor- 
rect. I spent months in searching; but 
became only the more confirmed in the con- 
viction thus forced upon me. I saw at once 
by reference to Mark i: 4; Acts 2: 38; 22: 16; 
John 3 : 5, that baptism was "for the remis- 
sion of sins"; and all my subsequent searching 
seemed but to add force to this conviction. 
Methodism did not teach that; and I did not 
even pretend to believe that my church was 
truer than the Bible. I read passages regard- 
ing the laying on of hands, such as found in 
Genesis 48:14; Numbers 27: 18-23; Mat- 
thew 19: 13-15; Acts 8: 14-19; 19:6; 1 
Timothy 4: 14; 2 Timothy 1 : 6; Mark 16: 
18; 6:5; Luke 4 140; 13:13; James 5: 14, 15; 
and as I read my mind was filled with surprise 
that these texts had never seemed to read that 
way before. 

It was quite plain to me now that the gos- 
pel had reference to the diseased body as well 
as the sinful soul of man, and that its provi- 
sions were made that man — the entire man — 
physical and mental, as well as spiritual — all 
that was blasted under the Adam — could be 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 117 



redeemed under the Christ. This was simply 
glorious. 

Again, when the doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion and eternal judgment was treated upon, 
such scriptures as are recorded in i Corinthi- 
ans 15: 22, 23, 40-42; 1 Thessolonians 4: 
13-18; Revelation 20: 2-15; 22: 12; John 
14: 1-3; Matthew 16: 27; Romans 2: 6; 2 
Corinthians 5 : 10; 1 Peter 1 : t 7, were made 
use of and my old theory of but one resurrec- 
tion and but two places hereafter was ruined. 
Here was evidence of the plainest and most 
forcible character, 1. That all men would rise, 
2. That every man would receive in the resur- 
rection just what he prepared himself for here, 
and that conditions as numerous and various 
as the stars of the firmanent are to be revealed, 
and 3. That I could inherit the "glory of the 
sun" or the "moon" or of the "stars" — just as 
I elected to live here. If I loved Christ 
supremely and kept the faith he enunciated 
and observed, I could live with him for ever; 
if not my inheritance would vary from his in 
proportion as my character revealed a dis- 
parity, for character alone would be the test 
of worth at last. This made clear to me the 
fact that in my own hand was lodged the 
power and the privilege of electing what my 
life in the resurrected state might be. Every 



118 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



life deed is to be brought into account and be 
rewarded or condemned. The faithful Christ 
servant is to be raised from death at "his 
coming" and to reign with him for ever, while 
the others must reap the consequences of 
their failure to love and obey him as they 
might and should have done. 

In addition to this I learned from Matthew 
5:5; 6:10; Revelation 5:10; 20 : 9, as well 
as Job 19 : 25-27 and Psalms 37 : 10, 11, 18, 
20, 2j, 28, 29, 34, that the final abode of the 
Saints of God would be upon this earth after 
its redemption, and, as a consequence, the 
pretty picture of a home beyond the skies 
which had been held before my eyes for so 
many years was stripped of its beauty — it was 
a thing of human invention and looked like a 
gilded fancy beside the substantial and 
divinely endowed philosophy that revealed 
earth as a perpetual habitation for man. 
Adam's sin brought curse upon himself and 
his habitation ; but Christ's mission was to 
remove the curse and restore the beauty of 
the habitation as soon as man prepared him- 
self to worthily occupy it. 

The announcement of God and Christ's 
unchangeability and impartiality, as made in 
Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; James 1 : 17; 
Acts ro: 34, together with the revelation of 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 119 



his kindness, shown in what at certain ages 
was done by him among his faithful followers, 
(see Ephesians 4:11-14; 1 Corinthians 12: 
1-3 1 ; Mark 16 : 15-20, and other places,) made 
the conclusion easy and consistent that the 
religion of Jesus would carry these same char- 
acteristics wherever it existed, for his gospel 
was ordained for man, and not for a few favor- 
ites at stated periods. If the design of it 
regarding the life beyond remained the same, 
who could claim that the portion relating to 
present life and experience would not be sup- 
portive of that hope which it was evidently 
intended to conserve? 

One of the most startling discoveries made 
by me was that Christ gave but one model of 
a church, and according to it, apostles, 
prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, etc., 
were a necessity. The texts already pre- 
sented were sufficient to convince me of this, 
and coupled with the charge delivered in 
Matthew 28: 19, 20, a case was made suffi- 
ciently strong against my Methodism to for- 
ever spoil any hope of safety under its shelter. 

Added to this was the clear announcement 
of Hebrews 5: 4, and the significant inquiry of 
Rom. 10: 15, which, together with their con- 
texts and the examples of Acts 2 1 : 24-26 ; 13 : 
1-4; and John 15:16, convinced me that no 



120 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



man had a right to go forth and represent 
heaven without getting his credentials direct 
therefrom, authorizing him so to do. It 
became easier then to understand why my 
mind had shrunk instinctively hitherto from 
going out as an itinerant minister. The fact 
was that both my church and myself were 
destitute of authority. It was quite clear now 
that only to those whom God selected as he 
had selected Aaron, Peter, Paul, and others 
did the promise hold good that what they 
should "bind on earth" would be "bound in 
heaven." Only to duly commissioned agents 
did the right belong to bless children, baptize 
believers, and impose hands for the gift of the 
Holy Spirit, the ordination of ministers, and 
the healing of the sick: All others who 
denied present revelation and ignored the 
Scriptural organization and doctrine were des- 
titute. While, in some sense this discovery 
was painful, it helped strengthen my confi- 
dence in the Bible, for therein was manifest a 
startling fulfillment of Isaiah 24 : 5 ; Acts 20: 
35, 36 ; 2 Timothy 4 : 3, 4 ; 2 Peter 2:1,2; 
and Revelation 12:1-6 and other passages 
which foretold a terrible apostasy from the 
primitive church organized by Christ; and 
thus my mind was prepared partially to 
believe that Revelation 14: 6 would possibly 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 121 



have a fulfillment also, and the angel of God 
would restore the ancient gospel and church. 

To me the character of God was magnifi- 
cently displayed in the universal provision for 
the race — the fulness of the atonement — and 
I was led to ask myself the question, my 
faulty religion had brought me so much 
happiness, what must God's own true religion 
do for me could I but find it; for even with 
these convictions fastened upon me, I did not 
conclude that the Latter Day Saints were 
right. I tried to think that perhaps they had 
learned all this by study and had counter- 
feited the church in doctrine and organiza- 
tion. I reasoned upon it ; but that did not 
help my Methodism. The fact that other 
religions might be wrong, did not make mine 
any nearer right. 

About this time William Clow, who had 
meanwhile married the oldest sister of my 
wife, while she was visiting in London, came 
to Toronto on business. He had united with 
the Saints Church also, and, though his stay 
was limited and my business kept me engaged 
much of my time, yet when we were together 
at my home I tried to oppose his doctrine 
mildly. He allowed me to select my own 
scripture, and then seemed to take delight in 
applying it for me. Of course I did not let 



122 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



him know what effect his visit had upon me 
for I was not yet convinced that his church 
was right, though I felt that mine was wrong; 
but his visit crippled me. He came to my 
church and heard me preach. He came to my 
class meeting and took part under my leader- 
ship; but it seemed that when he quoted a 
passage of Scripture it suddenly became full 
of new significance ; and yet I well knew that 
he had added nothing to its original meaning. 
I was perplexed; I was in a quandary; and 
in this condition he left me, though without 
ever learning from me anything as to my feel- 
ings. 

After this visit I pressed my investigations 
more closely, and, as a consequence, became 
more disturbed in mind. The pledged un- 
changeability of God and Christ compelled 
me to believe they were the same in every 
respect — in character, purpose, and feeling — 
as they appeared to the ancients. The 
announcement that "God is no respecter of 
persons," made it easy for me to believe that 
the children of this generation were of as 
much importance to God as those of former 
time, so far as the conditions and times of 
birth affected the case. The only question 
then left for settlement, was as to the attitude 
maintained by the ancients when they 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 123 



obtained such favor from God as the Bible 
bore witness of. Learning of this, I was 
pledged to the belief that if believers to-day 
would but assume like attitude and maintain 
it, an unchangeable and impartial Father 
would thus be brought under the obligation 
imposed by himself to treat these later born 
members of his family as he had treated those 
of earlier birth. 

This simply meant a restoration of ancient 
glory to the church, — all its spirituality and 
miraculous energy in relation to the human 
body as well as spirit. The Bible bore wit- 
ness that for over four thousand years God had 
communed with his people whenever they 
had "ears to hear." I could readily admit 
that man had departed from God, "trans- 
gressed the laws, changed the ordinance, 
broken the everlasting covenant," thus mak- 
ing his ears incapable of hearing ; for the 
statement was clear, "He that turneth awav 
his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer 
shall be abomination." This explained why 
the churches were without revelation and 
anorel ministrations; for I knew thev neither 
taught nor believed many of the important 
items of the ancient gospel law. I could not 
escape the conviction that if God should 
again restore the covenant once broken, and 



124 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



men should once more observe the old law, 
or in other words would go back to where 
their forefathers walked with God, they too 
would find him just where he had been left 
by the church at its departing. 

I could not help admitting that for men to 
find God in this age and to walk with him, 
meant for them to enjoy all the holy and 
blissful advantages that others enjoyed when 
pursuing the same course. I did not believe 
that the angels were all dead, nor that they 
had changed their employment, but being 
formerly "ministering spirits, sent forth to 
minister for them who shall be heirs of salva- 
tion," they waited the return of men to the 
gospel which makes men "heirs of salvation," 
before they could resume their original service 
as fully as before. I knew well that the idea 
of angel visits and direct revelation was being 
denounced in the churches. I had often heard 
it said that the awful voice of revelation ceased 
at Patmos, and I could not help concluding 
that if such was the case then there had not 
been a minister on earth since that time who 
was "called of God, as was Aaron." 

This made me shudder, as I thought of the 
many "forms of godliness," which denied "the 
power thereof"; and of the words of Christ, 
"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 125 



Lord, have we not .... in thy name done 
many wonderful works? And then will I pro- 
fess unto them, I never knew you: depart 
from me." I studied over that word many> 
and wondered how many were engaged in a 
work which they professed to do in Christ's 
name or by Christ's authority, who in the next 
breath denied that any word had been heard 
from God for eighteen hundred years, either 
by themselves or by any other. I asked and 
asked again, If God has not spoken for so 
long a time who can have called these men? 
Were they called "as was Aaron"? If not, 
♦ will God recognize their service, so that what 
they "bind on earth shall be bound in heaven"? 
If not, what good can their service be to me 
as gospel ministers ? 

So the time wore on. I was being pressed 
to enter the ministry; yet was losing faith in 
my religion. I was engaged in preaching fre- 
quently on Sundays, and in counseling as a 
class leader and Sunday school laborer. My 
ministry work was increasing, and calls came 
to fill the pulpit for the Wesleyan minister 
not far away, and for the Bible Christian min- 
ister in another direction. I read, and studied, 
and compared, and prayed, and feared, and 
wept. 

While I was in this state of mind my wife 



126 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



resolved upon paying her parents a visit and 
made arrangements accordingly. When the 
day of her departure arrived, I accompanied 
her to the train, and in parting, jokingly 
remarked that the next thing I expected to 
hear was that I had a Mormon wife. Not 
knowing how deeply I had been delving into 
the matter she replied that there was no 
immediate dano-er. I then advised her to 
listen carefully to what the Saints had to say, 
and, if she became satisfied that they were 
right, to join with them, without delaying a 
moment on account of my feelings. After a 
few weeks she wrote, asking my consent to 
her baptism, and after the counsel I had given 
her when leaving I could not well refuse. In 
fact there was no inclination in my heart to 
refuse, though the denouement was precipitated 
sooner than was looked for. My answer 
advised her to be sure she was right, then act, 
as she was her own aeent ; and mv Metho- 
dism, if continuing ever, would never cause 
an interference with her convictions. 

Accordingly she was baptized ; and in her 
account of it to me she bore witness of the 
satisfaction felt in consequence. On the even- 
ing of her confirmation, while the Saints were 
assembled in the church house, and just as the 
rite was about to be observed the door 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 127 



opened and Elder A. Leverton, of Bothwell, 
entered. He was called upon to assist, and 
in regular turn it fell to his lot to confirm my 
wife, who then looked like and was supposed 
by him to be a girl of about sixteen or seven- 
teen. Proceeding, however, the Spirit led 
him to promise much good, conditionally, to 
her; and, among other things, that her part- 
ner, who was then preaching a gospel in 
Toronto, would yet preach this everlasting 
gospel to the world. As he afterwards told 
me, Elder Leverton felt bad after uttering- 
this, until he was informed as to who she was. 

Of course the news of this reached me 
quickly by letter, and provoked a smile and 
considerable criticism. Still it did not strike 
me as being impossible or altogether unlikely, 
for the conviction that my life would be spent 
in church service had never left me. Still it 
was difficult for me then to guess just where 
my study would end for with the assurance 
that my Methodism was honeycombed with 
traditions of men and unauthorized practices, 
came the recognition that millions of honest 
and intelligent people were indorsing it and 
living worthy lives under its influences. A 
disposition seized me to question the relia- 
bility of the Bible and to doubt almost every- 
thing. This feeling, however, was not lasting 



128 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



for I continued to pray most earnestly for 
divine direction and to be preserved from it 
and from wrong paths and parties. 

W eeks passed by until about eight months 
had elapsed since the time when my ears 
were first saluted with the sound of this 
strange philosophy. My health was failing in 
consequence of too close confinement indoors, 
and yet it seemed impossible to change my 
condition. I worked hard all day and fre- 
quently sat up late at night to read and write. 
Some of the letters written to me about this 
time had drawn out a little cross fire from me 
and considerable banter. In one of my let- 
ters I had recklessly challenged them to use 
their faith to bring me among them by a cer- 
tain day, which I named. I told them it was 
impossible for me to get there, but their faith 
ought to laugh at impossibilities and produce 
any kind of miracle. I did not suppose they 
would ever pay any attention to it ; but the 
sequel proved they did. Like much of the 
balance of my writing it passed from my 
mind. 

Business began to press more heavily upon 
me. Every moment was demanded of myself 
and partner in order to preserve our credit. 
We had bought some expensive material to 
meet growing demands, and were partly 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 129 



indebted for it. Our notes were falling due, 
and we could not afford to fail in meeting' 
them. One note for several hundred dollars 
was to mature in about a month, and every 
nerve was being strained to meet it. My 
health was breaking, and one Friday evening 
I called on our regular physician for advice,, 
and was told that my only hope was in quit- 
ting business for a time and getting away 
from care and anxiety. I told him that was 
about impossible under our circumstances, to 
which he replied that if death was preferable 
I could take my choice. I felt discouraged, 
and returning to the office reported the mat- 
ter to my partner, who sympathized with me, 
but could see no way out, as our credit was at 
stake in meeting the outstanding obligation. 
Closing the office at night, after the hands 
had left, we walked together till we reached 
the street leading towards his home. There 
we parted, and I went to the home of the pre- 
siding minister to arrange some church work. 
While there, in answer to his comments 
regarding my sickly appearance, I told him 
what the physician had said, whereupon he 
insisted that I should go away for a time. I 
told him how impossible it was, and explained 
the situation. Turning to me he said, "Go, 
Brother Luff, recruit your health, and I will 

9 



130 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



see that the note is paid when it matures." 

I was surprised and gratified, but hesitated. 
He insisted, and after leaving him I called 
upon my partner and related what had 
occurred, and was advised by him to go at 
once. 

That night I thought long about the course 
to pursue, but at seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing took train for London, where my wife 
still remained. Arriving there about noon I 
started towards the residence of her parents, 
and when within about a rod or two of the 
house was met by my brother-in-law, William 
Clow, who gave me to understand that their 
faith in miracles and prayer was not weak- 
ened in the least by my arrival, as that was 
the very day I had so carelessly named in my 
bantering letter some time before. I don't 
know whether God had anything special to do 
with my getting there at that time and in 
that way or not ; but I was there ; of that I 
am certain, and without any known reason 
for congratulating myself either. 

I found my wife as happy as the rest of the 
Saints, and as anxious to tell of the light she 
had discovered and the. joy she had found. 
She found in me a willing listener, though 
perhaps a little exacting in criticisms and 
demands. I had come with a covenant in my 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 131 



heart to obey if I found the work satisfac- 
tory. I knew that to unite with the Saints 
was to lose the, support of the old church in 
my business, and to finally lose business, 
home, and all the friends of my former life, 
not excepting mother. However, I had 
come determined to take all risks, provided I 
could see divinity associated with the work. 
I had come pledged to do anything necessary, 
and in my power, to advance its interests if I 
but discovered God in it ; yet I told no man 
of my resolution or feelings. 

On the following morning I heard Elder J. 
J. Cornish preach on the first principles, and 
he announced the "Book of Mormon" as his 
subject for the evening. During the after- 
noon service of prayer and testimony there 
were manifestations in prophecy and tongues, 
which, though producing considerable enthu- 
siasm and furnishing comfort to the Saints, 
did not bring any conviction to my mind or 
pleasure to my heart. The old question of 
questions worried me, "Are they of God?" 
What would I not have given that day to 
have known just that one thing. At night I 
attended, expecting to take notes on the 
strange subject; but becoming interested 
found it impossible to follow closely and do 
much writing. At the close of the service I 



132 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



stepped upon the platform, met the elder, and 
congratulated him upon his success in making 
out so apparently clear a case for the Book of 
Mormon. That while I could not say he was 
right, I was satisfied the subject was worthy 
of a careful study, and it should be so treated 
by me. 

At this juncture, Priest (now Elder) Wil- 
liam Newton stepped forward and greeted me 
with some expression affecting the work, 
which led us into a friendly discussion for 
about twenty minutes, resulting in my admis- 
sion that the Bible was clearly in favor of 
their position on the first principles, but say- 
ing that it still remained unproven to me that 
their gifts and church were genuine, as all 
might easily be counterfeited. He seemed 
disappointed that his arguments and testi- 
mony did not affect me convincingly ; but I 
told those present that I believed God under- 
stood me and could reach me, and that I was 
ready for the benefit of their prayers. Thus 
we parted. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 133 



CHAPTER IX. 

INTO THE SUNLIGHT. 

They are slaves who fear to speak 

For the fallen and the weak; 

They are slaves who will not choose 

Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, 

Rather than in silence shrink 

From the truth they needs must think; 

They are slaves who dare not be 

In the right with two or three. 

Lowell. 

For the following evening a prayer and 
testimony meeting was announced at the 
home of my wife's parents. It was customary 
among them at that time to hold several 
meetings of this kind during the week, so full 
of zeal and fervor were they. Having heard 
considerable about the Book of Mormon, I 
secured a copy and shut myself up in the par- 
lor nearly all day to read it. While thus 
engaged I was visited several times by as 
peaceful an influence as ever pervaded my 
frame. The words before me seemed to be 
filled with a something that in an indescriba- 
ble way took hold of my intelligence and 
elicited my approval in frequent ejaculations. 



134 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



The persuasive force of that influence drew 
tears from my eyes and praise from my lips 
almost involuntarily and my suspicions regard- 
ing the book melted under it. Just why such 
was the case cannot by me be explained in a 
philosophical way, but some, at least, of my 
readers who have been under like influence 
can appreciate the condition as presented. It 
was strange to me then, for it was no mere 
feeling of gladness or ecstacy, but the distinct 
consciousness of a presence and power near 
me that was associated in some way with the 
book. Whatever my will may have been con- 
cerning the Book of Mormon, I certainly 
could not, while under such an influence, con- 
demn nor speak lightly of it, for to have done 
so would have seemed like talking against 
God. To urge any objection against the 
work one must get out from under that halo ; 
but no one while under it ever desires to get 
away. I can easily understand how, had I 
been in a more susceptible or receptive con- 
dition of spirit, the enlargement of this pre- 
sentation could have made heaven feel very 
near, and the book exceedingly precious. 

At the prayer meeting quite a number were 
present, and all seemed to be full to the brim 
of some gladdening grace, which was pleasing 
to witness. When liberty was given for any 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 135 



to speak, I rose in turn and expressed my 
confidence in God and my pleasure in behold- 
ing their happiness. As to their religion or 
doctrine and church I could not, like them, 
say I knew it was of God. One thing I did 
know, however, namely, that my heavenly 
Father had blessed to me the church I was in ; 
and, while I was anxious to obtain and do all 
the good possible, yet I could never think of 
discarding or renouncing that church and 
entering another until I was certain that by 
so doing I would please him better than by 
remaining. I wished them well, and hoped 
their joy might never be less; but I was in 
God's hands and did not feel like speculating 
or experimenting with my soul or with its 
interests. 

The meeting continued, and somewhere 
during its progress, when all were kneeling 
and some engaged vocally in prayer, I men- 
tally commended my case to Heaven, asking 
my Father to overlook my presumption if it 
appeared as such and to answer me that night 
whether or not this was indeed his church, 
whether I should be baptized therein, and if 
that peculiar power which had visited me 
occasionally, while investigating the doc- 
trine, was really the Holy Spirit. I fur- 
ther entreated that the answer might be 



136 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



given through my wife's brother, Robert 
Parker, who was a member of the church 
and present, though not over ten years old. 
I knew there was no guile in him; and I 
promised obedience to the first principles 
upon being satisfied as to God's will being so. 
No mortal heard that prayer; it was not 
voiced in human speech ; but it ascended, and 
I believe God heard it and forgave my pre- 
sumption. 

When the number so desiring had prayed 
vocally, the company rose and was seated, 
and the singing and testimony were resumed. 
Soon Robbie, as he was familiarly called, 
stood up and began to speak as any child of 
that age would in testimony. He had not 
uttered many words till his face became 
waxen and the tears started from his eyes and 
flowed profusely down his cheek, and turning 
till he faced me, he raised his hand and said, 
as nearly as I can remember: "Verily, thus 
saith the Lord God unto you, O son of man, 
Go now and obey my gospel, for this is indeed 
my church. It is my will that you shall be 
baptized at the hands of one of these my 
servants, for you have received of my Spirit, 
saith the Lord." 

Here was just what I had asked for. It 
had come through the channel I had desig- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 137 



nated. It had brought the very information 
I had desired. I knew the lad was not aware 
I had asked for it, and I believed he had not 
power in himself to frame the answer as it was 
given, even though the question had been 
known to him. Reader, what would you 
have done under such circumstances? But, 
pardon me, I am here to tell what was done 
by me, and not to interrogate others. Rising 
from my seat, without emotion or display of 
any kind, I told them all how I had asked for 
that revelation through the boy, and that I 
now accepted it ; that while I could not yet 
see as far, perhaps, as they could into the 
doctrinal or prophetic mysteries, I was, never- 
theless, now ready to move forward as far as 
the light shone ahead of me. I could see bap- 
tism and the laying on of hands, and was 
ready for those ordinances. The question of 
authority with me was not completely settled. 
I knew the elders had at least as much 
authority as other ministers, with a strong 
showing of more. The revelation just given 
implied the genuineness of their calling, and I 
was content to use what light I had and test 
the matter by obedience, trusting for more 
light when it was really needed. 

The entire company wept and rejoiced and 
when I took my seat, Elder Cornish arose, 



138 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



and, walking over to me, spoke in tongues, 
the interpretation of which was given and was 
of a nature to comfort me in view of the step 
I had decided to take. It was about half past 
ten, I believe, when the meeting closed, and 
it was supposed that I would be ready to go 
with others for baptism two days later ; but 
as I expressed a desire to go at once, arrange- 
ments were made for me. Quite a company 
repaired to the river Thames, — scarcely a 
quarter of a mile away, and in their presence, 
witnessed also I hope by the angels and our 
Master and God, I took the most solemn and 
important step of my life. Elder J. J. Cornish 
performed the ceremony, and I arose from the 
liquid grave with a calm consciousness that a 
just God would at least credit me with honest 
purpose in what I had done. Just then there 
flashed before my mind the experience of 
that dark night when William Matthews and 
myself were so remarkably preserved from 
collision with the freight train ; and his words 
came forcibly to my recollection, "Evidently, 
Bro. Luff, we have a work yet to do, for which 
God has remarkably preserved us. I hope we 
may find it out and be faithful in doing it." 
I thought I saw a glimmering of a coming 
light upon my life, one by which that work 
would be clearly indicated and my destiny be 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 139 



unfolded; and in my soul, as on that dark 
night, years before, I again said, "Amen, Lord, 
here am Z" 

Beyond these impressions, or mental con- 
secrations, no change was experienced. I 
moved about, however, with a freer spirit, feel- 
ing that I had done as far as I knew, and was 
ready to meet my heavenly Father and tell 
him so. On the following Wednesday even- 
ing the confirmation service was observed; 
but this brought no additional evidence or 
revelation to my mind. It was a ceremony 
according to the letter of the law, so far as I 
could discern or feel, nothing more; yet that 
was a -satisfaction in itself ; for I felt that I 
could now take the Bible with me to the 
eternal bar and by it, if backed by a Christian 
character, urge my claim for unending life, 
and use its utterances as my authority before 
the God of all the earth. 

I spent several days among the London 
Saints after my baptism and received promise 
by revelation that I should yet hold the priest- 
hood and raise up a branch where I lived, and 
from thence move into broader fields of use- 
fulness. I then started back to Toronto, 
leaving my wife behind to complete her visit 
Back to the great city of my birth, where one 
hundred thousand people moved and wor- 



140 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



shiped in contentment and peace as I had 
formerly done — that bliss of ignorance. Back 
there I went to stand alone, the sole advocate 
of the most despised doctrine on earth. 

I can never tell how I felt. Up to the very 
last Sunday before leaving home I had occu- 
pied the Methodist pulpit ; and, though teach- 
ing no particular doctrinal tenets, had been 
reckoned as one who indorsed all that was 
embodied in the creed. Now I felt that I was 
to be a target for every shaft. Where should 
I begin? How should I convince my thou- 
sands of friends that I was not only honest 
but had divine warrant for my course ? My 
heart beat with unusual vigor when stepping 
from the cars, and alone the streets where I 
had been a thousand times before. There 
was something so different about me as though 
I was not the same person that had left there 
two weeks before. The load of that city 
seemed to be on my heart, and I carried 
responsibilities as never before. But there I 
was, back again, and, with an oft repeated, 
"God help me," on my lips, I returned to my 
home and business. 

One of the first things learned was, that my 
name had been presented before the annual 
conference of the Methodist Church, which 
had convened during my absence, for admis- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 141 



sion to the regular ministry. My good friend 
Mr. Griffith had presented it, and the matter 
was under advisement, when he was horror- 
stricken by the startling announcement from 
the lips of Rev. W. S. Hughan (who had just 
arrived from London) that I had joined the 
Mormons! That settled the case instanter. 
The name was at once dropped as an unholy 
thing, and my notoriety was assured. 

The news spread rapidly throughout the 
city, and I became an object of sympathy, 
commiseration, and even contempt. 

I wrote out my resignation to the Quar- 
terly Board of the Methodist Church, and 
went personally to see my particular friend, 
the minister. He seemed to feel distressed, 
but as he was engaged, our interview was 
postponed. I called afterward to relieve him 
of his obligation to meet my note, stating 
that the changed conditions might make him 
feel anxious for release ; but he generously 
expressed his confidence in my manhood, and 
announced his perfect willingness to assist 
me as formerly agreed. This he afterwards 
did, and in due time I made it good to him; 
and, while our church relations were severed, 
our regard and esteem for each other as men 
remained unaffected, and the Rev. Thomas 
Griffith, wherever he may be or go, has a 



142 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



warm place in the writer's affection, because 
of the noble and Christian spirit he exercised 
toward me, both prior and subsequent to 
that time. 

In this same connection I wish to mention 
the name of Rev. James Edgar (now dead), 
who came and conversed freely and affec-* 
tionately with me, and after hearing my 
defense, did then, and on subsequent occa- 
sions, heartily bid me "Godspeed," expressing 
himself as satisfied that I had the word of 
God for my bulwark against the attacks of 
either creed worshipers or infidels. He asked 
me on one occasion, some years afterwards, 
for the Book of Mormon, but his death 
occurred before I reached there again. 

In his kind zeal and solicitude for my wel- 
fare Mr. Griffith visited me at my office, and 
expressed his regret and fear for me. Upon 
being asked why he felt so, he answered that 
by cutting loose and drifting from the church 
he feared my influence for good would be lost, 
if not myself as well. Turning to him, I 
asked if he believed what together we had 
preached ; namely, that simple belief in Christ 
was the only thing essential to salvation. He 
replied that he did. ' I then asked if he had 
any reason for supposing that, because of 
leaving Methodism, I had therefore lost faith 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 143 



in Christ, to which he answered, "No." I 
further inquired whether he believed that 
God would damn me for being baptized, or 
for receiving the laying on of hands in 
perfect accord with the Bible requirements, 
notwithstanding I still believed in Jesus Christ. 
Again he answered, "No." Whereupon I 
replied that if his doctrine of simple faith was 
correct I was certainly safe, for I had many 
times more reason for believing than I ever 
had before, and I certainly did believe with 
all my heart. Further, if the Latter Day 
Saints' doctrine was correct, and I met 
its demands, I was also safe. In case of 
either doctrine being correct my safety was 
guaranteed. 

"But if," said I, "this doctrine shall be found 
correct upon Bible testimony at last, and 
Christ stands by the Bible, where will you 
appear, having ignored these important points 
of doctrine?" I felt that it was my turn to 
feel sorrowful for him. 

He replied, "Bro. Luff, I do not really feel 
that you are in absolute danger; but I am 
sorry to lose you and your influence for good 
to the church." He then left. That was our 
last interview on the subject, though I met 
him several times afterwards. 

Shortly after reaching home I was visited 



144 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



by an old friend, though a young man, Thomas 
J. Rodgers, with whom I, as a Methodist, had 
enjoyed many pleasant seasons, socially and 
otherwise. He had just arrived in town from 
East York, and came to my house to spend 
the day. There were present in the room, 
my wife's sister, Mary (now Mrs. George 
Harrington, of Independence, Missouri), and 
her grandfather, Beginning with the causes 
leading to my trip, I related to my friend each 
incident along the route, including my bap- 
tism, confirmation, and the promises made 
me. Then, taking a Bible in my hand, I 
addressed him by name, stating that this faith 
was interlined and interwoven with the Bible 
and adding, that if this doctrine was not 
approved of God and true, he might destroy 
the Bible for my part as I had no further use 
for it. 

As I uttered these words dispassionately, 
there came a something over me and around 
me that seemed to fill the room and convert 
the very atmosphere. 

I was as literally immersed in the Spirit as 
formerly in the water. Looking around I saw 
grandpa in tears, though he had been an 
indifferent listener. Mary also wept, and my 
friend was moved perceptibly. There came 
at that moment to my heart and mind an 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 145 



assurance that the author of the Bible and of 
this church was one. That to stand by either 
one was to stand by the other ; and to stand 
by them was to walk with God ; that whoso- 
ever "abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath 
both the Father and the Son." — 2 John- 9, 
For the first time I was really baptized of the 
Holy Ghost, and my soul was in ecstasy. It 
was past utterance ; it was glorious ; it was 
divine. The room was full of light ; and,, 
whether so sensed by the others or not, to me 
it was heavenly. I had known the joys of 
religion and the wondrous delights of relig- 
ious service before ; but in the presence of 
this they paled. They were happiness ; this 
was bliss ! 

Does the reader wonder why I now believe 
that my steps were ''ordered of the Lord" ? 
why I hold to the thought that the peculiar 
incidents of my life, my early marriage, and 
the cause leading to it were somehow asso- 
ciated providentially ? I had secured all the 
spiritual benefit that Methodism was able to 
confer, when an unpleasant episode led to my 
sudden determination to marry, and my wife's 
entrance upon the scene prevented me from 
taking the higher (?) and unnecessary degrees 
in that order or church, and stopped, right at 

the critical moment, the movement that might 
io 



146 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



have led me — where ? To my wife, and 
through her parents, came the tidings of 
restoration and latter day glory. She led the 
way and was first obedient ; her testimony, 
which I knew contained no disguised deceit, 
had more weight with me than preachers' 
argument; her child brother was the channel 
through whom came the information I had 
sought so earnestly ; and there I was, filled 
with the Spirit which unites men and women 
to God, permitted to look back along a chain 
of events as through -an unbroken lineage, 
which seemed to aim at but one culmination. 

Stop with me, and think a moment: Had 
that marriage not taken place at that time I 
certainly should have been in the distant 
West within a few weeks thereafter; and 
probably, like many others, have become 
reckless regarding religion, and would have 
formed other associations. And probably 
never again would I have come in contact 
with the family through whose line came the 
good news referred to. Had I been brought 
in contact with the gospel in any other way, 
it is doubtful whether it would have exerted 
so favorable an influence over me and shaped 
my course so readily. 

Ofttimes since that day have I heard that 
little Canadian girl say that there was no 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 147 



event in her life, or work of her performance, 
that she could call to mind that was of suffi- 
cient importance to demonstrate her value to 
the church. Like many other humble ones 
who toil and endure and sacrifice in the seclu- 
sion of home, she often wonders by what pos- 
sible achievement she can become worthy of 
the higher estate, which more illustrious ones 
give show of title to. But, as I contemplate 
the events connected with my preservation for 
this work, and as I study daily the uncom- 
plaining, self-sacrificing disposition she carries 
with her under the weight of increasing 
responsibilities and during the long, lonesome 
hours, stretching into months when I am 
absent from her, I bless the day that brought 
us together, and the God who shaped our des- 
tinies. I might have fared as well elsewhere, 
but better would have been impossible. If I 
shall eventually be permitted to stand with 
her in the realm to which her patient worthi- 
ness entitles her, I shall expect to find her 
credited with at least an equal share of what- 
ever honor and glory may attach because of 
the fruit of my labor as a minister for Christ. 
She alone bears the home cares which I 
should share equally with her, that I may 
move hence and bear aloft the banner of 
truth. An excellent wife has been given me 



148 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



of God ; and I consider it no mere sentimen- 
talism to here pay tribute to the Giver and 
the gift. But back to my story. 

My friend was dazed at the recital of my 
doings, and at the peculiar change which 
occurred in the atmosphere around us ; but 
he was not convinced that I was right; nor 
did he ever become so, that I am aware of ; 
for he died not a great while afterward. He 
remained my friend, however, and I hope that 
fact, if no other, will stand him in good stead 
when the accounting day shall come. How 
different his spirit seemed when compared 
with those who had fawned around and flat- 
tered me in years before, but who were now 
ready to believe and say anything evil about 
me. His was the kind that proved a friend 
indeed ; for never in my life before had I felt 
so keenly the need of one. 

My wife returned home in about two weeks 
after my arrival, and together we counseled 
and resolved to meekly and kindly face and 
endure whatever came for the truth's sake. 
It was no trifling matter, however, for I could 
not keep still on the subject of religion, and 
to talk was to draw the fire of opposition, 
possibly of persecution. We became the 
observed of all observers if we went to church. 
We were the theme on nearly everybody's 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 149 



tongue in the neighborhood ; and such opin- 
ions, such speculations as to the cause of my 
terrible procedure were circulated as were 
perhaps never before ventilated concerning 
any mortal in that locality. Everybody said 
that a change had been noticeable for months 
in the tone of my sermons and class room 
exhortations. Some believed it was a result 
of over study, and thought they had detected 
a strange stare in my eyes for some time, indi- 
cating approaching insanity. Some feared it 
was an initial step, leading to the abomina- 
tions of Utahism. Others speculated that it 
was a dash for notoriety. But I had the com- 
fort of learning that nearly all had confidence 
that I would tire of the novelty in a short 
time, and within a year or two at most, would 
return to the Methodist Church, a wiser man. 
But the strange aspect of affairs to me was 
discernible in their painful reticence when 
conversing with me. They were mum as 
oysters when I broached the subject of relig- 
ion ; and I could seldom provoke a dialogue 
or discussion with them. A few words, 
expressive of contempt, or disgust, was the 
rule, and on those I might feed or starve so 
far as they were concerned. My wife was 
generally considered a victim of circumstances 
and environments, and not to be blamed. 



150 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF 



The reader can perhaps imagine the sensa- 
tions produced in my mind when such inci- 
dents as the following occurred: Passing a 
house where I had formerly, at intervals, been 
feasted and favored for years, and meeting a 
child which belonged there, I stopped to chat 
with it as my custom had been. Instantly 
the house door opened and a voice that I had 
heard before, voting me to positions of trust 
and honor, pealed forth mandatorily, requir- 
ing the child's return indoors immediately. 
The little one obeyed, and the door closed 
with an emphasis that convinced me I had no 
admirer behind it. I knew that a conversion 
had taken place in that house, and I won- 
dered if the spirit that caused it was as com- 
forting to the convert as was the one that 
accompanied my change. As the echoes of 
that abrupt door closing rent the air I turned 
away, thinking of the strangely reversed 
attitudes in which people and doctrines would 
appear when God finally adjusted matters. I 
still think that that poor, mistaken mortal 
will be more surprised at her own conduct, 
when the straightening out processes arc 
completed, than I was when her act sent a 
pang to my heart and started the warring of 
my mind within me for a few seconds. That 
was not an isolated instance, but subsequent 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 151 



events of like character found me better pre- 
pared to cope with them. Perhaps they were 
permitted by Providence as a training or dis- 
cipline for my proud spirit. If so, I am glad 
they occurred, and hope no ill may accrue to. 
the agents operating. 

While the people, almost as a unit, de- 
nounced the step I had taken, still there were 
some who felt a degree of sympathy for me 
and seemed anxious to express it ; but they 
would not for a long time allow me to even 
name the subject of religion to them. Among 
the latter was my mother, and some other 
relatives. As one good old Methodist sister 
expressed it, "If the delusion is strong and 
subtle enough to capture Bro. Luff, we had 
better avoid contact with it; for it must be a 
dangerous business." 

Perhaps I cannot better convey to the 
reader's mind an idea of the way in which my 
action was regarded by the people, than by 
reproducing a few stanzas written about this 
time in a private letter to a friend. It ran 
thus : — 

''He's turned a Mormon,'' they say in surprise, 

While beholding me with dismay; 
"Satan, the father of mischief and lies, 

Hath craftily led him astray. 

"How woeful his state — once, safe in the fold — 
Now, far from its shelter and care; 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 

Beguiled by Satan, like many of old, 
Hastening to death and despair. 

"The cares of life at length have succeeded 

(^Through devilish direction) to win 
A soul for whom hath Christ interceded 

And suffered to rescue from sin. 

"Tell me it's of God! No never shall I 

Such fatal delusion admit! 
Mormon! — thy mission is truth to deny; 

Thy future the bottomless pit. 

"Cease, now, such pernicious doctrines to preach, 

And return to the fold again; 
Nor ever attempt such folly to teach 

To parsons and college taught men. 

"Wouldst thou, in ignorance, try to subvert 

The Orthodox faith we proclaim? 
Or with simple doctrines like these, convert 

Intelligence, learning, and fame? 

"Vain is thy hope; 'twill end in despair; 

The thousands on earth do not err; 
Though Scripture's thy basis, 'twill never compare 

With what we through reason infer. 

"Centuries now have elapsed since the hour 

When miraculous energy fled; 
Nor ever again shall man feel its power, 

Till called from the tomb of the dead. 

"If what thou declarest were true, 'twould flow 
Through channels more pleasing to men; 

But thou art a Mormon! Hence nothing can flow 
Through thee, save corruption and sin." 

These are the compliments Saints have to share, 

The Holy Ghost in us is denied, 
Our motives impeached, — the cross which we bear, 

And Christ, our commander, belied. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF 



Yet would we glory in sorrow, like Paul, 
And deem ourselves blest among men; 

If counted worthy to suffer at all, 
While preaching this gospel again. 

O honor divine! Permitted to spend 

A lifetime in serving our God, 
To share in his sufferings, and in the end 

Enjoy an eternal reward. 

O endless delight! 'Twill be ours to share 

The glory as well as the pain ; 
To enter his kingdom, freed from all care, 

Eternally there to remain. 

"Disciples indeed, inspired of heaven, 
Sent forth by commandment divine, 

To spread through the earth a life given leaven 
That doth to the Savior incline." 

This be our mission: nor will we despair, 
Though few our friends, legion our foe, 

Upborne by his power, whose truth we declare. 
Fear nothing as onward we go. 

These joyful tidings, this message of light, 

Through every nation must run; 
And we, the heralds of joy and delight, 

Must bear them till Christ says, "Well done." 

Then with the glorified host will we sing 
More sweet than the angels above; 

And Zion with Jesus' praises shall ring, 
While the ransomed behold him in love. 

Burst, then, ye threat'ning clouds that appear, 
And pour forth your fury; 'tis vain; 

He whom we obey says, "Lo I am near;" 
So, Latter Day Saints we'll remain. 

About this time Brn. E. C. Briggs and J 



154 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



Patterson arrived in Canada and visited Lon- 
don ; but the former was compelled to return 
home on account of his wife's illness, (or so I 
learned,) leaving Bro. Patterson to take 
charge of affairs during his absence. My cor- 
respondence with the Saints in London was 
kept up, and by some means a portion of it 
came under his observation and resulted in 
his determination to visit Toronto, as I after- 
wards learned, to ordain me. Word reached 
me as to his intention and we were filled with 
delight at the prospect of a visit from one of 
the Seventy. He came rather sooner than 
was anticipated, and stepped into our printing 
office unexpectedly one day, but was wel- 
comed heartily. Quitting my work I accom- 
panied him home; and, together we tried to 
arrange for meetings. Failing to secure a 
meetinghouse we announced service at our 
home, but only about half a dozen persons 
came. My mother was visiting with us on 
that day, but refused to remain for meeting, 
or to talk with Bro. Patterson. She seemed 
to believe him responsible in some way for 
leading her boy astray, and had no patience 
to listen to him; so she left. Evidently the 
time had not come for beginning the work 
there. 

Before leaving the city Bro. Patterson 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 155 



intimated to me that whenever I was ready 
he had authority and advice of the Spirit to 
ordain me an elder. I was hardly prepared, 
but accepting his advice, and receiving the 
construction he put upon certain revelations 
in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, I 
submitted, and the ordination took place. 
This occured in August, and soon afterward 
he returned to London. During his stay, 
however, I learned considerable in regard to 
church proceedings and methods, and per- 
formed my first official work, assisting him in 
blessing my two children. 

Just prior to this I had learned that a 
merchant in the city had once been a Latter 
Day Saint and was inquiring as to our 
identity. I visited him and found that he 
had once lived in Nauvoo and clerked as a 
lad in the store of William Law. He had 
left there at the breaking up, and, not agree- 
ing with the different claimants to leadership 
rights, had moved to Toronto, and in course 
of time engaged in business for himself. As 
a result of our interview, he made the trip to 
London and was baptized, thus adding one 
to our number. His name was William Hall, 
and a noble, enthusiastic helper he proved to 
be. His wife was a Roman Catholic, how- 
ever, and as cruel an opposer as ever man 



156 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



had, her bigotry and intolerance leading her 
to enter the store and openly insult customers 
whom her husband was waiting upon, under 
the impression that they were Latter Day 
Saints. She was also addicted to the use of 
liquor, which added no little to the discomfort 
of her husband. Bro. Patterson came in for 
a share of her display of temper when he was 
visiting there, to the great mortification of 
Bro. Hall. 

But, hard as was his lot, Bro. Hall per- 
formed well his part and nobly sustained 
every effort to get the doctrine before the 
people. He was much blessed of the Spirit, 
and seemed to draw peculiar delight from the 
fact that God had brought the old unadul- 
terated faith of his boyhood back to his life 
again. He received several letters from his 
old employer, William Law, in which the 
whole fabric of Mormonism, root and branch, 
was denounced as fraudulent ; but these never 
served their writer's purpose ; for our brother 
was in constant receipt of that which daily 
certified to the divinity of the gospel to him. 
He said it made him young again. On one 
occasion, when returning home from a visit 
at our house, he felt unusually well, and com- 
ing to a fence, he placed his hand on the 
upper board and made a spring, as he had fre- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 157 



quently done when a boy, with the intention 
of leaping over it; but, by some mishap, 
which was not fully explained to me, he 
slipped, and in falling on the fence ruptured 
himself badly, necessitating medical attention 
and the wearing of a truss. In this condition 
he remained for several weeks without inform- 
ing us as to the fact, until one day he inci- 
dentally referred to it and asked to be 
administered to. I respected his request, 
and he returned home, took off his truss and 
never wore it again. He was healed instantly 
and permanently, and frequently testified of it 
afterward when among the new converts who 
entered the church later on. Lest I should 
fail to refer to him again let me here state 
that Bro. Hall met with business reverses, 
which with other cares upon his mind, would 
have made life intolerable, and a few years 
afterward, when the writer was far away on a 
mission, he was taken sick and died. When 
visiting his wife at a later period, she told me 
of his noble spirit, and how the church had 
helped him and made him still better than he 
had been. She wept over the manner in 
which she had treated him, and finally said, 
"Your church was a blessing to him, and yet 
I would not let him enjoy it while he lived." 
She apologized for her former doings, and 



158 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



wished it was possible to show him her regret. 
I tried to comfort her, but the effort seemed 
unavailing. 

In October, 1876, I attended district con- 
ference for the first time. It was held in 
London. Upon our arrival there, my wife 
and I found that a serious division existed, 
and that, while the time and place of holding 
conference were agreeable to former adjourn- 
ment, it was, nevertheless, in opposition to an 
agreement reached between the acting mis- 
sionary in charge and the district president 
and published in the Herald. Hearing the 
revelations bearing on the question read and 
the decision based thereon offered, I con- 
cluded from the ex parte showing that the 
conference was all right, and so participated 
in it. I will not burden the reader with a re- 
cital here of the pros and cons connected 
then and afterwards with that oratherino- ; but 
simply inform them that I was there, and 
under the showing made was a ready partici- 
pant. Among other things my ordination was 
considered, and after paragraph sixteen, sec- 
tion seventeen Book of Doctrine and Cove- 
nants, had been read and interpreted by 
elders present, it was decided to have been 
illegal, because they considered me a member 
of London branch (I having been baptized 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



159 



there), and no vote of that branch had been 
taken upon the question. There was not a 
soul there to make any other showing, so the 
question was easily settled, and to my relief 
too; for I had been greatly troubled and per- 
plexed over the matter; because I had re- 
ceived no special testimony regarding the 
ordination. 

Later on during the session a manifestation 
was- had in which I was named for the elder- 
ship, and was again ordained. Here I formed 
a quite intimate acquaintance with Brn. Rob- 
ert Davis, John Shippy, George Cleveland, 
and other local celebrities. To me the con- 
ference was a source of pleasure; though I 
did not feel the degree of enthusiasm that 
many did, for I was not as susceptible to in- 
fluences as others. At the close of the 
sessions Bro. Patterson arrived and pronouncd 
the entire business illegal. Some were condi- 
tionally silenced for insubordination, and 
were cited to appear at General Conference 
the following April. My name was not in- 
cluded, but I was passively, at least, com- 
mitted to the proceeding, and was counted on 
for a witness, in which capacity I afterwards 
acted. I believed they were right, but my 
faith was based on ex parte evidence. I was 
beginning to get my education. 



160 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 



CHAPTER X. 

GETTING EXPERIENCE. 

''Great Master, touch us with thy skillful hand,' 
Let not the music that is in us die! 
Great Sculptor, hew and polish us; nor let, 
Hidden and lost, thy form within us lie! 

"Spare not the stroke! Do with us as thou wilt! 
Let there be naught unfinished, broken, marred - 
Complete thy purpose, that we may become 
Thy perfect image, thou our God and Lord!" 

While at conference I resolved to make 
arrangements, if possible, to enter the field ; 
and soon after it returned home to carry the 
resolution into effect. In this I succeeded 
admirably, though at a heavy loss to myself. 
Knowing that my partner in business was not 
a practical printer, and that in the event of 
his failing to secure a practical man to fill my 
place, he might suffer materially, I determined 
to allow him the privilege of stating the terms 
of my withdrawal and the amount I should 
receive for my interest. Approaching him I 
announced my desire to withdraw, and my 
willingness for a settlement on the above 
terms. Taking a short time for consideration, 
and finding an available, competent man, he 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 161 



accepted my proposition. In less than two 
weeks he brought me the papers to sign, 
which I did unhesitatingly; and, though los- 
ing heavily, I stepped out of business with 
the feeling that my motive was ample justifi- 
cation for the course pursued, and that God 
would compensate me in other ways. I now 
think the action was rather hasty, and the 
consequent loss unnecessary ; but have no 
regets to express. I did it because the latter- 
day work seemed richer than wealth and bet- 
ter than position ; and it was the only object 
of any considerable moment to me. My 
former ambition was subdued. Leaving home 
and family, I went back to London within a 
month from conference adjournment, and was 
ready for service. My object in going there 
was to associate myself with some traveling 
elder, and thereby learn more readily than 
otherwise. I found Bro. Robert Davis there, 
and he was willing to take me along as an 
auxiliary. So in a few days we were out in 
real earnest, and I was happy. After calling 
at Blenheim, Appledore, and Chatham, and 
visiting the Saints at each place, we went to 
Dover, and there lived for a short time among 
the colored Saints. They had been neglected 
by the ministry, and their condition demanded 
attention. So we made our home among; 



162 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



them for some days, preaching and regulating 
according to the wisdom in Brother Davis; 
then returned to Appledore, where we were 
■cared for by Elder G. W. Shaw and family. 
From there we moved to the residence of Sis- 
ter Lively, at Prairie Siding, west of Chatham, 
who with her daughter (now Sr. Roderick 
May of Independence, Missouri), were the 
only members of the church in that neighbor- 
hood. 

Our work began in their house, and from 
thence extended, by invitation, to other 
houses in the locality. Mr. Lively and his 
wife, with others, thought that the Primitive 
Methodist minister, Rev. Heywood, would let 
us have his church for preaching. We 
doubted it, but went one Sunday afternoon to 
hear the gentleman preach, (I had sat with 
him in Methodist conference not long before,) 
with the idea of having Mr. Lively, who was 
one of his staunch members, ask the use of 
his house for us at night. In his sermon the 
reverend gentleman, having heard of our 
work in the neighborhood, took occasion to 
refer slightingly to some points of our doc- 
trine, and to exhibit his contempt for us. At 
the close of the service, just as the preacher 
was stepping down from the pulpit, Brother 
Davis arose and said : — 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 163 



"Will you allow me, sir, the privilege of 
asking you a question regarding something 
stated by you ?" 

The answer came in thunder tones, without 
hesitation, "No sir; if you don't believe what 
we preach, you have no business here." 

That settled the matter, not only with Bro. 
Davis, but with several others who had 
assured us of Brother Heywood's liberality. 
That was no place for inquirers or truth-seek- 
ers. One must believe in the divinity of 
Methodism or he was not wanted there. It 
was an eye-opener to quite a number. One 
member, a Mr. Brown, quickly sized up the 
situation, and having a soul bigger than his 
church, invited us to occupy the large room 
at his house that night. We accepted, and 
voiced our announcement, which brought out 
quite a large crowd. 

The result of this first assault upon my old 
superstructure of religion was a baptism by 
me of four of its members, among whom were 
Mr. Lively and his Son Henry. Others have 
since accepted the gospel in that neighbor- 
hood. Thence we moved into Michigan and 
succeeded in following up the interest that 
had been created in and around what is now 
Brown City, and in the locality of Goodland, 
Lapeer county, and in Burnside and Dean- 



164 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 



ville. In the latter place Brother Davis held 
a debate with Rev. Oliphant of the Disciple 
order. In these places I baptized several. 
Leaving Brother Davis at Davison Station to 
go to Reese, I went with Mr. Matthew Pear- 
son to Thomas Station to fire a few gospel 
shots. It was a new place, and the inhabit- 
ants, with few exceptions, seemed to be either 
infidels or Universalists. This was my first 
real venture alone ; but the Lord stood by 
me and I survived. One old atheist chal- 
lenged me at the close of my first meeting to 
speak in tongues. I offered to accomodate 
him next evening publicly if we could agree 
as to the language I must speak and to some 
other preliminaries. Before leaving the hall 
the old eentleman hailed me a^ain and asked 
me how he was to know what I said unless 
he could understand the language. He pro- 
posed Latin, French, or 'German first, but 
after I had agreed to any he asked how he 
was to know whether or not I had learned 
them. I told him I was only agreeing to do 
the work demanded — not to be responsible 
for his conclusions. I then proposed to speak 
in a language he did not understand; but he 
said he would not then know but it might be 
mere gibberish. I proposed to interpret it 
for him, but he was still superstitious that I 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 165 



might manufacture the whole thing of myself. 
I then told him to settle in his mind just 
what would satisfy him and let me know next 
night, and if possible I would accomodate 
him. 

He sent word for miles around amone his 
friends, and a large assembly greeted me that 
evening. The hall was packed. Approaching 
him privately I asked for his conclusion. He 
informed me that no matter which way or what 
language I talked he would simply have my 
word for the divinity that inspired it, and he 
didn't care to trouble me for any display 
whatever. I then told him that he had 
reached the conclusion I wanted him to from 
the beginning, and informed him that I did 
not know any language but English, and 
that imperfectly; nor had I the ability to 
grant his request if he had insisted upon it ; 
but that I wanted him to see the absurdity of 
his own test, and therefore tried to give his 
proposition all the advantage he might ask 
for it. I had never done the like before, and 
doubt if I ever will again ; but it won the old 
man's good will, and he acknowledged that I 
had the advantage of him at least. Splendid 
liberty was granted me, and several of the 
infidels came up and complimented me and 
the work I was engaged in. Then they asked 



166 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



me to remain longer, but finding that I could 
not, they begged me to return. I visited 
several families and found that a good impres- 
sion had been made. I have never been able 
to visit them since, but perhaps others have. 

Leaving there I moved on to Reese, in 
Tuscola county, where I found Brother Davis 
at work, and with appointments out for me. 
Brother Edward De Lone and wife were also 
there, and I found a home and welcome with 
Sister De Long's people, Wm. Stocks and 
wife, who were also Saints. Here we aroused 
the ire of the Baptist and Methodist ministers, 
until a local paper near there, after describing 
their conduct, wound up its editorial with the 
significant statement that we had behaved 
ourselves creditably so far as they knew; but 
allowing, for argument's sake, that our church 
was not orthodox or of divine origin, still the 
methods and spirit of our religious opponents 
in the above named churches was "morally 
damnable." They did everything to incite 
the people to mob violence ; but I baptized 
either ten or eleven persons before leaving, 
and some of them came from the above-named 
churches, and one from the Roman Catholic 
body. 

From there I returned home for a short 
time, and afterwards joined Brother Davis 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 167 



again near Imlay City, Michigan, and con- 
tinued laboring with him for some months, 

It will be impracticable to make detailed 
mention of all the incidents of my travel ; 
they are so common to the ministerial work 
everywhere; nor would they prove suffi- 
ciently interesting to warrant a use of space 
for that purpose. So, having introduced my 
initial labor to the reader, I will briefly touch 
upon such main incidents hereafter as will 
reveal a Fatherly supervision of my life, and 
furnish a reason for my effort at continuance 
in the faith. 

I attended the General Conference of 
April, 1877, at Piano, and there got a clearer 
insight into the modus operandi of church 
government and procedure. There I met 
with men, who untrammelled with local 
jealousies and unhampered with petty per- 
sonalities, were able to express an unbiased 
judgment upon matters that had crowded 
themselves upon my mind and stimulated 
inquiry. I looked, and prayed, and asked, and 
learned. The Canada matters referred 
thereto were settled, and I found that my 
first ordination was approved, and that the 
district conference, in which I had so inno- 
cently participated, was pronounced an 
unwarranted and rebellious convention. I 



168 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



didn't like the verdict, but swallowed my 
share of it as gracefully as my unsubdued 
nature would allow, and returned to Canada 
a wiser if not a better member. 

After a few months more labor I returned 
to Toronto to close up my old deferred 
business accounts, and to dispose of what 
other interests I had that prevented con- 
tinuous field work. My stepfather, who had 
again commenced business and needed a 
manager, came to me and urged strongly that, 
for a time at least, I take hold of his business 
for him, as he was afraid to trust it with any 
other at its then critical juncture. I consented 
and continued with him for nearly a year, I 
think. 

During that time I preached on Sundays 
at my house, and baptized some thirteen or 
fourteen persons, among whom was my older 
sister and her husband. We purchased a 
church building and lot not far distant and 
made some payments thereon. Our audiences 
were small, generally, but we kept up the 
services and did our best to give opportunity 
to the people to hear the word. 

I sold my home property, subject to what 
encumbrance was upon it, freed myself from 
every obligation, and, after moving my family 
into part of my sister's house, prepared 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 169 



again to take the field for missionary service. 

This year proved to be one of severe trial 
and anxiety to me, though there were 
occasional bright spots intervening. The 
enemy laid heavy siege against my faith and 
all but shattered it. I shall refer to a more 
pleasing experience first, and allow the 
somber ones to find their place in turn. 

I succeeded in one thing which gave me 
more than ordinary pleasure; viz., getting 
access to my mother's mind with the gospel 
story. It came about in this wise : Knowing 
of her honesty I was confident that if she 
could but hear the truth she would admire 
it; but, like others, her prejudice made her 
unwilling to listen. She believed Methodism 
to be the soul of divinity, and she looked 
with suspicion upon everything that opposed 
it. To secure her ear, therefore, was the 
main object. After studying the matter over 
I hit upon the following plan : A lady friend 
and relative, the mention of whose name here 
would serve no good purpose, who was of 
rather an inquisitive turn of mind and quite 
conversational, visited my mother's home 
occasionally, and I decided to make it a 
point to drop in on the same day that she 
did, for the sake of being interviewed by her 
in mother's hearing. 



170 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



The scheme worked admirably; for I had 
no sooner seated myself than she began to 
quiz me and exhibit her skill. After allowing 
her to make an apparent case against me, I 
ventured an explanation, only to draw out a 
heavier fire than before. After a few dia- 
logues in that line I discovered that my plan 
was a success ; for, though I had no hope of 
impressing the visiting lady favorably, I 
secured mother's attention. This was followed 
by anxious inquiry on her part, and a request 
for the church books. 

Many visits were made after that time, and 
I sat for hours and told her the blessed story, 
while she listened eagerly, lest a word should 
be missed. I saw the tears course down her 
cheeks on those occasions, and heard her 
frequently exclaim, "Bless the Lord; I believe 
it is true." She came to hear me preach, and 
I well remember a tableau presented in our 
church one Sunday evening after I had 
finished my discourse. She waited till a few 
persons left ; then, seeming to have exhausted 
her patience, she came up the aisle to the 
platform, and throwing her arms around me, 
in the presence of the people, kissed me most 
affectionately; and reader, I was not a bit 
ashamed to have it so. It was the yielding 
of the last vestige of prejudice against the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 171 



work, and an expression of affectionate pride 
that her son was honored and blessed as 
much as he was. 

At this time one of the severe trials before 
♦ referred to was upon me. It seemed as if all 
the bad elements of my old nature were being 
rallied by the Devil for one determined and 
final siege upon my character. I prayed 
earnestly against it, and in going home from 
work each evening, would, at a certain point, 
turn from the main thoroughfare and take a 
quiet, untraveled road or path, purposely to 
avoid the people, and to pray. Evening after 
evening I followed that line, for months. 
Holding my hat in my hand I prayed fer- 
vently for grace to overcome this uprising of 
evil within me. When reaching a vacant 
space, I would kneel on the grass and urge 
my plea with all the earnestness of which I 
was capable. Frequently I have risen with a 
song of praise in my heart and exclamations 
of joy on my lips; for I thought that power 
was given me to overcome. But, no sooner 
would my thumb touch the latch of my 
kitchen door, than it seemed as if the very 
blackness of Egypt was turned in upon my 
soul again. It seemed impossible to speak a 
civil word. If the cat crossed my track I 
wanted to kick it away. If supper was steam- 



172 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ing on the table, I growled because it was too 
hot. If not ready I stormed because of my 
wife's tardiness. If it was waiting and cool I 
would not eat, because it was not hot. If the 
children came toward me with outstretched 
arms, I had a cross rebuke for them on the 
tip of my tongue. Nothing was right for me, 
and my wife's tears only enraged me the 
more, and made me feel more demonlike than 
human. 

Let the reader, untutored in such experi- 
ences, smile at the above if he may, and say 
it was too childish or too trivial for a man's 
notice ; but I will here say that such experi- 
ences continued with me for months ; and 
that the change at my door each evening was 
as literal as when a dozen incandescent lights 
are suddenly turned off in a room at mid- 
night. Night after night I dreaded it and 
prayed against it, only to feel it as soon as 
I reached the threshold of my own home. 
Frequently I crossed the entrance room and 
went into the bedroom, where I knelt and 
prayed for power to behave myself, deter- 
mined not to go into the other room and eat 
till I secured the needed help. Rising I have 
re-entered the other room and again been con- 
fronted and almost instantly mastered by that 
cruel spirit. Mortified and ashamed all day I 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 173 



would determine upon a better course at 
night, only to find myself comparatively power- 
less when night came. 

One evening, while walking alone, my hat 
swinging in my hand, and this terrible bur- 
den on my mind, I was praying most fer- 
vently for grace to overcome this power, 
and for ability to rise above it and adorn 
my profession of sainthood at home. I felt 
that I did not want to live if I could not 
be at least a kind husband and father. No 
other ambition was in my mind than the 
intense desire to be good. I wept in my 
soul-agony as I walked along. No person 
was on the street or block besides myself. 
Just then I heard a voice — not by my physi- 
cal ear, but just as distinctly, nevertheless — 
utter these words : "You shall yet stand in 
the QiLorum of the Twelve'' My inner man, 
or spirit, heard the words as clearly articu- 
lated as did my natural ear any words ever 
spoken. I stopped suddenly and looked up 
and around, but saw no person. There was 
nothing in my mind to suggest or invite such 
an announcement. A thought in that direc- 
tion had never occurred to my mind that I 
am aware of. But I heard it; and to this day 
do not know whether it was the voice of God, 
angel, spirit, or demon; all I know is that I 



174 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



heard it. Why that sentence should have 
been spoken to me at such a time I am at a 
loss to understand; but I determined that the 
revelation it made, whether proving true or 
false, should never have the effect of feeding 
my vanity or of spoiling me for the humblest 
service. I reported it to my wife, and after- 
wards to some half dozen persons in different 
parts of the country where I traveled. 

Still the adversary plied faithfully his 
vocation and kept his forces around me, 
evidently bent on my overthrow, yet never 
for a moment did I lose my determination to 
conquer, if there was grace enough with God 
and at my disposal to give me final advantage. 
Shortly after hearing the voice referred to— 
possibly two months — we were visited by an 
elder from Western Canada who preached 
several times, and before leaving delivered a 
prophecy in which I was told that a trial 
awaited me. It was to be severe and to be 
introduced in ways and through channels 
outside of all my calculations. It would 
press me sorely, and its object would be 
to drive me into infidelity. But if in the 
hour of extremity I would remember and 
call upon God he would deliver me ; and 
in due time I should rise higher in the Mel- 
chisedek priesthood and become an especial 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



175 



witness to carry the gospel to the world. 

The latter part of this revelation agreeing 
with what I had before received made me 
consider it somewhat significant ; for the one 
uttering the prophecy knew nothing of what 
I had heard. My wife and self agreed to 
make note of it. But I did not believe I 
could well be tried worse than I had been ; 
and, as the burden then upon my mind 
began to leave, I allowed the matter to pass 
from my thoughts. 

I had drafted a skeleton of the prediction, 
however, embodying what is set forth in the 
foregoing, and placed it in my pocket book. 
I doubted whether anything could ever make 
me a skeptic, and was inclined to believe that 
the prophecy was overdrawn. The trial 
which for months had been galling me so 
sorely had never once squinted in the direc- 
tion of infidelity, and I held to the opinion 
that after escaping that I was proof against 
the adversary's attacks, with such an object 
in view. How far I was mistaken let the 
sequel show. I intended, however, to keep 
the facts of the prediction with me and learn 
its origin by the development of time. I was 
now about relieved of the terrible strain I 
had been under for months, and things, like 
myself, were assuming a normal condition. 



176 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



Our meetings were enjoyable, by reason of 
the Spirit's presence ; and the fact of mother 
becoming a believer seemed to fill my cup 
with pleasure for a considerable time. 

Elder John Shippy came and labored for a 
short time and reported a need for special 
labor where he had recently been at work, 
and invited me to return with him. Accord- 
ingly I started forth on a trip to Carlingford 
in his company. We opened fire at the house 
of Brother and Sister John Hartnell ; then by 
invitation changed about with the residence 
of a Mr. Robert Brown, who with his family 
were of the Baptist Church at that place. Our 
labor there was blessed, and nearly the entire 
family was baptized. Eight members entered 
the church at that time, and others during the 
coming year. Elder Samuel Brown, now 
laboring constantly in the field, was one of 
the number baptized at that time by the 
writer. His father and mother have since 
proven the genuineness of their conversion to 
the faith by as noble and complete a conse- 
cration of means as the law provides for, and 
in other ways have contributed to the build- 
ing up of the work. 

Later on in the city of Saint Mary's, where 
they afterwards moved, they purchased a 
commodious church building" and lot, and, as 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 177 



a result the writer had the honor of occupy- 
ing its pulpit and baptizing Mr. (now Elder) 
Mortimore and wife, and a Mr. Rainey. May 
God add many such willing workers to the 
present list. Bro. Robert Brown and family 
are now residing at Blenheim, Ontario. 

From Carlingford I went to London and 
visited some few of the Saints, among others 
an elder who had recently been brought in 
contact with some writings and people and 
arguments that had the effect of staggering 
him on the leadership question. I found him 
dark in mind and in no condition to listen to 
anything I might say. Our President was 
held up to stinging ridicule and biting sar- 
casm, and his claims were scouted as unwar- 
ranted, while the revelations of the Doctrine 
and Covenants were being used to prove that 
he was a usurper. The spirit in which this 
was done was torturing to me; for I knew 
that this same elder had been used as an in- 
strument in working miracles, and in confer- 
ring some of the grandest blessings that I had 
ever heard of. I had a hundred times, in the 
barrenness of my experience, considered him 
the biggest illustration of divine power in 
human form I had ever met, and had thought 
that I did not need any greater evidence of 
the Christ power in the work than was found 

12 



178 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



manifest in him. Yet there he was, dark as 
night, and I had to attempt a defense of the 
very work I thought he illustrated; and that, 
too, against attacks made by himself. With 
but two or three exceptions, where communi- 
cations were direct, my faith had been based 
upon his testimony regarding divine manifes- 
tations. I had looked upon him as being a 
pillar when others failed me; but there was 
the evidence before me that I had leaned 
upon a broken reed. To say that I was 
dazed is but to put it mildly; but I carried it 
and pondered it in my mind. Afterwards, 
when I heard the same elder speak publicly, 
and in unmistakable terms send the old stream 
of divinity into other channels of leadership, 
I felt like asking where there was any ground 
for me to stand upon, when he who had re- 
ceived a hundred manifestations to my one 
was now ready to renounce the very organiza- 
tion through which alone had come to him 
such marvelous power. 

As a basis for part of his criticism he had 
gone outside of the Book of Doctrine and 
Covenants, and had used the following, which 
was given through the Seer and incorporated 
in a letter sent by him to W. W. Phelps in 
1832:— 

"And it shall come to pass that I the Lord 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



179 



God, will send one mighty and strong, hold- 
ing the scepter of power in his hand, clothed 
with light for a covering, whose mouth shall 
utter words, eternal words, while his bowels 
"shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order 
the house of God, and to arrange by lot the 
inheritance of the Saints, whose names are 
found, and the names of their fathers, and of 
their children, enrolled in the book of the law 
of God." 

I was challenged to show where the "scep- 
ter" had been wielded by the present Joseph 
(to whom the elder presumed I applied this 
clause); where had he proven himself "mighty 
and strong;" where had he uttered "eternal 
words," thereby putting down contention and 
false doctrine, and silencing cavilers? Where 
had the "house of God" been "set in order?" 
These, and a host of other questions were 
defiantly flaunted before me. I was incapable 
of a reply, such as would have then answered. 
But I have since learned that Saints often 
entertain thoughts regarding such promises 
that are by no means warranted. While I 
am not necessarily pledged to the application 
of this revelation to our esteemed President, 
yet I would here suggest that my idea of 
might and strength as therein promised is not 
what it once was. Strip it of all association 



180 • AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



with physical or carnal warfare, and it is left 
with a purely spiritual significance. 

The mightiest and strongest man in a 
spiritual sense this earth ever held was Jesus 
Christ ; and if we accept his illustration of 
these qualities, we find no destruction of foes, 
no crushing of opponents, no reviling of revil- 
ers, no resenting of insults, no silencing of 
cavilers by brute or muscular force; no clash- 
ing of steel or trumpets of war; no visiting of 
revenge upon his persecutors and murderers, 
but always the reverse. If twelve legions of 
angels awaited his bidding to defend him and 
destroy his foes, why did he meekly hold the 
reed and wear the crown of thorns and robe 
of mockery? Why did he allow the angry 
mob to spit upon his sacred face and smite 
him from behind? Why did he endure so 
patiently the frequent banter to display his 
power? Why, with power to save his life, did 
he consent to die? Let us learn, reader, that 
he is mightiest by far who can possess the 
requisite strength to smite a foe and yet with- 
hold the blow; whose soul is moved by loftier 
impulse than leads to carnal resentment. 
Never did the wise man write more truly 
than when he penned the words, "He that is 
slow to anger is better than the mighty, and 
he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



181 



city." Almost any man can resent a sudden 
attack upon him to the extent of his strength ; 
but how few can hold in check the rising 
impulse and can bless the hand that smote, 
and breathe a final prayer for the hands made 
gory with his own life blood. 

The mission of Jesus was to demonstrate 
the possibility of that diviner potency by 
which our spirits can be ruled. There was 
his "scepter of power." 

In illustration further of this he spake 
"eternal words," and how beautifully did they 
harmonize with his practice. Hear him as 
he says, "Ye have heard that it hath been 
said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a 
tooth ; but I say unto you, That ye resist not 
evil." "Love your enemies, bless them that 
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and 
pray for them which despitefully use you, and 
persecute you; that ye may be the children of 
your Father which is in heaven!' To do all 
this, not only in patience but in the Christ 
sense, requires more of the "mighty and 
strong" element than as a church we have yet 
exhibited. As longr as I have reason to 
admire those qualities in Jesus I shall not fail 
to admire their approximate in any other. As 
long as they prove the Son of Man to have 
been "mighty and strong," will they not also 



182 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



prove any other possessor of them to be near 
the standard required in the above revelation? 
If any claimant to the office referred to in the 
prophecy shall speak "words" differing- in sen- 
timent or wield a "scepter" of "power" diverse 
from this, can he help us by so doing to 
become "the children of Jour Father which is 
in heaven," unless Jesus was woefully mis- 
taken ? Allow me to here state that the best 
evidence I have ever had supportive of the 
possibility of our beloved President being 
the "one" provided for, has been in the fact 
that my long and intimate acquaintance with 
him has proven him nearest the standard 
above referred to. 

Whoever may eventually prove to be the 
"one" must bring and employ weapons, not 
carnal, but spiritual, and we need look for no 
more startling results from his speaking "eter- 
nal words" and holding a "scepter of power" 
than followed in the wake of Jesus Christ 
when he did like work. It is possible the sad 
blunder of the Jews may be repeated among 
us. They refused Jesus because his "scepter" 
did not fill their carnal expectations, and we 
in our eager straining to catch the sound of 
"eternal words" to be yet spoken, may ignore 
the divinity of those above quoted ; and, in 
consequence, may lose title to the "inherit- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 183 



ance of the Saints," which the expected "one" 
is to "arrange by lot." 

This learn and know, that we who can 

Hold power to crush and yet restrain 
Its exercise — whose love for man 

Forbids him lower to the plane 
Where grace to nature yields its sway, 

And self-wreaked vengeance is the height 
And span of honor, — he whose way 

Well-chosen and pursued, the light 
Of heaven commands, — whose constant care 

Subdues uprising self and spurns 
Resentment, though the circling air 

With slanderous invective burns, 
Is mightier and hath truer claim 

To hero's place and fame unfui-led, 
Than he whose dead -strewn track proclaims 

Him conqueror of a world. 
The spirit — poised in righteousness 

And training for celestial spheres, 
Though housed in mortal tenement, 

And vexed with myriad cares — 
Which climbs o'er clam'ring self and crucifies 

Its carnal impulse, — that can bless 
The tongue that cursed it and, without parade, 

Relieved a foe's self -earned distress, — 
Can feed an enemy and nurse the hand 

That smote, — that hastes to clasp 
In fond embrace and e'en unsought 

Forgive the life pledged to its ruin, — 
That o'er the sepulchre of buried self 

Erects no monument, but lives to extol 
Another's virtue, and in silence shed 

A holy luster o'er the lives of all, 
Is strength-possessed and fortified, 



184 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



In likeness of the model given. — 
Earth's king — man's hope — the Crucified. — 
God's ideal in earth or heaven. 

To be reviled and not in kind return 

Revilement. — in the Son of God 
TTas princely attribute. It was the crest 

Or pinnacle of lofty bearing — better still: 
'Twas the sublime towering of the divine 

Above, yet through, the human — the resplendent 
Luster of the Infinite (like diamond setting 

In the character of finite life) — "Thy will, 
Not mine. Father, be done." 'Twas yielding flesh 

To make God manifest: and, while I stand 
Transfixed before this scene, let my fond heart 

Admire, yet uot in empty forms of praise: 
But "likewise"' doing — lost to selfish pride — 

Submerge my soul in the Christ principle — 
Be ever moved by love and still abide 

In virtue. — finding shield and staff 
Therein. — and bear within this character 

My Master's photograph. 

I may here state that the elder referred to 
above came out of his season of darkness and 
doubt in due time, and with probably better 
assurance re^ardine the Reorganization than 
ever before. His work since that time has 
proven his worth and I am of the opinion 
that the genuineness of his metal and the 
excellence of his service for Christ and the 
church had brought upon him the jealous 
ra^e of the adversarv to such an overwhelm- 
ins: extent as I have testified of. It was his 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



185 



time of heavy trial ; but God overruled it all 
to his own glory and the brother's permanent 
good. So I now view it, but not so at that 
time, for though I did not publish it abroad, 
my faith was wounded sore and I returned 
home nursing my bitterness and apprehen- 
sion. Upon my arrival home my wife was 
taken sick and called for administration at 
my hands. I observed the rite as required in 
James 5 : 14, and she revived for an hour, 
then relapsed. Again she called, and again I 
administered to her, with the same results. 
This was several times repeated, until I re- 
fused to proceed further. With streaming 
eyes and broken heart I pleaded for recogni- 
tion at the hands of God, until, wearied with 
constant effort, oppressed with the doubt that 
had already sprung up in my heart, and dis- 
gusted with what seemed to be the mockery 
of the affair, I abandoned myself almost to 
despair. I went for a physician and commit- 
ted my wife's case to him ; but still, for her 
sake, because it pleased her, I prayed on, but 
with fast waning faith. After a few weeks 
my wife's health was restored, and I tried to 
cheer myself again. Her sisters, Mary, al- 
ready referred to, and Elizabeth (now Sister 
Allen Bailey of Independence, Missouri), 
were stopping at our home. We kept up the 



186 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



family altar and the branch meetings, regu- 
larly, and not a soul knew of the battle that 
was raging within me. I did not want to 
hurt my wife's faith, nor rob her of any of the 
comfort I knew it brought her. 

Meanwhile her parents had moved from 
London to Independence, Missouri, and her 
mother had written for the two sisters to 
come West to her. They had delayed in 
order to provide several things before going, 
and to earn sufficient to pay the cost of the 
long journey. This delay caused their mother 
some uneasiness, and she wrote me a -very 
pathetic letter, asking me to use my influence 
to induce them to start quickly and promis- 
ing to send financial help to them if they 
required it. She stated twice in the letter 
that she knew by the Spirit that they should 
come to her, but could not tell why. 

Upon receipt of this letter we wrote at - 
once, and promised that they would start 
immediately upon receiving such an amount 
of money as would complete their railroad 
fare. After sending this word we waited for 

o 

a letter, bringing the amount required. The 
letter came, but not with the expected mes- 
sage. Instead thereof, it brought tidings of 
an accident, by which their mother had been 
thrown from a wa^on, down a hill and onto a 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 187 



railroad track, crushing her face, and causing 
her death in about five hours. 

This was a terrible blow. Need I tell that 
our house was filled with a grief that seemed 
inconsolable ? Need I add that it occurred 
at a time when I was in the worst condition 
of mind possible to bear it? It was simply 
crushing; and I felt as though I cared neither 
for God nor religion ; nor for aught that my 
eyes could not rest on and understand. Still 
I tried to comfort the rest, and to keep up 
the form of worship for the sake of others, 
until,- a month or two later, I reached a con- 
dition of mind where I abhorred myself for 
acting the hypocrite, and determined to take 
all risks in renouncing the entire religious 
fabric. 

One night I entered my chamber alone and 
knelt down, determined to make a final effort 
to secure recognition at the hands of God, 
if such a being really existed. Mortal never 
prayed more devoutly. I pleaded, and rea- 
soned, and wept, that some token of even 
God's existence might be given ; but every- 
thing was denied me. Rising from my knees, 
after a long siege, I flung the chair away 
from me and resolved to abandon myself to 
whatever might be my fate and cease to pray. 
In this state of mind, bordering on frenzy — 



188 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



a hell indeed — I got into bed and tried to 
silence my remnant of conscience by arguing 
my case in justification. I traced the long 
series of trials that for half a year had borne 
down upon me t so heavily, the vain appeals 
I had made for deliverance, the ease with 
which one a thousand times more blessed 
than myself could renounce the church, the 
repeated and useless administrations to my 
wife, the refusal of heaven to even notice my 
agony of distress, the cruelly sudden death of 
my mother-in-law who was one of the truest 
Saints I ever knew, and at such a critical 
time, and the long siege of cruel abandon- 
ment to such fiendish influences as had op- 
pressed me without just cause, and that too 
right in the face of my most tender and loyal 
devotion to the work of the church. All this 
and more I argued, and felt wicked and full 
of resentment. O, the impenetrable black- 
ness of that period when I felt fully justified 
in shaking my puny fist in the face of Deity 
and daring him to do his worst, if he had any 
power at all. I tremble now as I think about 
it. 

While lying on the bed in this horrible 
condition of mind, trying to sleep, and caring 
little whether I ever should wake again, there 
stole gently and sweetly over me a sensation 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 189 



akin to that which had visited me shortly 
after my entrance into the church, and sud- 
denly the question was forced into my 
thoughts, "Did I not forewarn you?" I in- 
stantly remembered the revelation that had 
been given, its prediction of peculiar trials, 
and its remarkable statement that the object 
would be to drive me into infidelity. There 
I was on the verge of the very precipice re- 
ferred to ; and, as the fact and the warning 
stood together as if in vision before me, my 
whole nature changed. An unutterable glad- 
ness filled my heart ; and my soul magnified 
the Lord. My freed spirit seemed to really 
float in an atmosphere of divine peace, and 
my feelings found vent in tears, and songs, 
and prayers. I slept the first peaceful sleep 
that I had for months. No language can 
ever describe the contrast of feelings that 
was experienced that night. And if it were 
possible to write it, only those who had 
passed through a like ordeal and transition 
could appreciate it. 



190 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



CHAPTER XL 

"DIFFERENCES OF ADMINISTRATION." 

He rests bis hand upon the watcher's brow — 
But more than that, he leaves his very breath 
Upon the watcher's soul ; and more than this, 
He stays for holy hours where watchers pray ; 
And more than that, he ofttimes lifts the veils 
That hide the visions of the world unseen., 

Father Ryan. 

Like too many others I had brought ex- 
travagant notions with me into the church. 
Without stopping to consider that therein 
was to be found the arena on which was to be 
waged the "conflict of ages," and that mortals 
were to learn not only the wonderful works 
of God, but also the terrible works of Satan, 
I expected to find men and women moved by 
a single impulse and equipped by one Spirit, 
acting in concert, without a jarring element 
discernible. I did not look for absolute per- 
fection, but I rather looked for results of 
church service than the details and minutiae 
of service. 

But I soon found that, as with myself, so 
with most others, the gospel had very much 
to do in eliminating the old Adam before the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



191 



new could occupy chief place for perpetual 
control. I was brought into contact with 
people who were in the transition state, as to 
character, and who, like myself, were expect- 
ing more of others than they were exhibiting 
in themselves. I found some who were very 
eager to enjoy the manifest visitations of the 
Holy Spirit; but who were utterly unwilling 
to endure the scouring necessary to make 
their vessels fit places for the Spirit's pro- 
longed stay. They enjoyed royal visits of 
the above order better than they did house 
cleaning for the guest's comfort. 

Like boys at school, there were more at- 
tending than were likely to graduate, though 
all the helps and facilities necessary were at 
hand. The school and text-books were all 
that could be desired, but scholarship calls 
for more than these. The church and doc- 
trine and Spirit were commensurate with all 
moral necessities, but some had all these in 
reach and did not "abound." Some gloried 
in the fact that God had chosen the "base 
things of the world" and were keeping as 
"base" as they could all the way along, ex- 
pecting, perhaps, to be "chosen" again in the 
crowning day because of fidelity to the 
original quality. Still the possibilities of the 
church were freely manifest in that others 



192 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



who were "base" had been transformed till 
the Master's nature was discernible in their 
lives. 

I found that my calling as a minister must 
necessarily bring me into direct contact with 
people in all stages of development, and it 
was for me to "study to show myself ap- 
proved" as a workman. I early discovered 
that while Saints, under the Spirit, could love 
as could no others, Saints, after losing that 
Spirit, could hate as no others. It was evi- 
dent that the adversary planted his forces in 
strength proportioned to the amount of 
good he had to combat and overcome, and 
that, finding all truth comprehended in the 
gospel creed, he ransacked his dominions at 
times to muster force sufficient for the 
demolition of its strongholds and defenders. 
The safety of the soldiery was in eternal 
vigilance and unceasing activity. The sleeper 
and the idler were easily overcome, and, 
being overcome, soon became hindrances 
rather than helps. 

All this was manifest to an acute observer, 
and I found that Canada needed occasional 
visitation at the hands of the authorities of 
the church, that she might be "set in order." 
There were "wills" and "won'ts" sufficient to 
produce friction and prove that all were not 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 192 



yet of the "same mind and the same judg- 
ment." There was need of the "helps" and 
"governments" provided so wisely. Yet the 
divinity of the great work was being fully at- 
attested by what it was performing among 
the obedient and humble ones. 

During the above year, Pres. W. W. Blair 
had visited Canada, and I had met him at 
district conference at Blenheim. His presence 
and counsel helped many of the Saints to a 
better mental and spiritual condition, but 
there were some old jealousies and dissatis- 
factions existing which were not entirely re- 
moved from the district. However, things 
were improving, I was told, and it is probable 
that the Saints, like myself, were undergoing 
a necessary discipline. 

I had also attended the General Confer- 
ence of April, 1878, at Piano, in company 
with Bro. J. J. Cornish. There, as before, I 
saw and heard many things that had a ten- 
dency to broaden my views, or, at least, to 
encourage me in the idea that the church of 
God gave ample scope for the exercise of 
personal conviction, and that every good 
man's soul could find elbow room therein. 

This was peculiarly comforting to me, be- 
cause my mind had been made remarkably 
skeptical on some things which had found 



194 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



local shelter in places, and which, while I had 
not openly attacked or .opposed, I could not 
conscientiously indorse. 

At this conference Brn. Joseph Smith and 
W. H. Kelley were appointed to visit Canada 
and investigate irregularities there. They 
attended our district conference at Corinth, 
shortly after, and at that session, the Kent 
and Elgin district was divided, the London 
district was formed, and over it I was elected 
president. The ministrations of these visit- 
ing brethren were decidedly helpful and the 
good effects remain to this day, though their 
appointment and labor were not directed 
towards all the hurtful forces, as, indeed, they 
could not possibly be in so short a time. 

The coming to Canada of so great and 
illustrious a personage as the "Mormon 
Prophet" was a signal for quite a gathering, 
and, had he been caged and properly con- 
cealed, a considerable amount might have 
been realized by charging an admission fee 
to see him. There was not Yankee shrewd- 
ness enough in us innocent Canucks to 
avail ourselves of this prospective bonanza, 
however, and so the exhibition was made 
gratis to about a thousand people. 

A grave suspicion was prevalent that our 
innocent-looking "Bro. Joseph" was a polyga- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



195 



mist from the western hills and that he was 
around after more recruits for his harem. He 
seemed to take in the situation and rather 
disarmed their fears immediately upon rising 
to speak. After announcing himself a resi- 
dent of Illinois, where the laws were strenu- 
ously monogamous, he frankly admitted 
having taken full advantage of what show 
they did afford, by getting all the wife he 
could in one dress, hence had married a lady 
weighing nearly two hundred pounds. 

This unexpected statement produced a 
kind of mirthful explosion which effectually 
dissipated the long-drawn expression of hor- 
ror and suspicion on the faces of his auditors. 
He had a good-natured lot of listeners during 
the remainder of his discourse. 

After the close of conference he went to St. 
Thomas, thence to London, preaching in both 
places, and at the latter place I left him and 
hurried on to Toronto to advertise his coming. 

His visit to Toronto did not produce much 
of a sensation. The audiences were small, 
but the Saints were edified. This visit 
occurred just a few weeks before the time 
referred to when I reached a final settlement 
of all business and property affairs and moved 
my family into rooms at my sister's house, 
preparatory to entering the field. 



196 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



In this determination I was encouraged by 
Bro. Joseph, and he left me, having my assur- 
ance that my chief life-object was to tell the 
gospel story. In the course of our conversa- 
tion together I heard him express the convic- 
tion that my strange experiences of the past 
had been disciplinary, with a view to fitting 
me for effective ministerial work. 

Arrangements thus completed, I once more 
parted company with wife and babies and 
started forth under my appointment in the 
district. New official responsibilities were 
upon me and everywhere in the district were 
demands for judicious educational work as 
well as public preaching. My youth and com- 
parative inexperience made me slow in either 
introducing private ideas or antagonizing old 
ones that I did not favor. 

In preaching to those without, I had very 
fair liberty. My memory was strengthened 
remarkably, and the truth seemed all-suffi- 
cient for every occasion. I visited the Carling- 
ford, Usborne, London, St. Thomas, and 
Corinth branches, and made some new open- 
ings, one at Walsingham Centre, where Bro. 
G. T. Griffiths afterwards baptized some 
twenty-eight persons. 

My visits among the branches brought me 
more directly in contact with Saints of all 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 197 



varieties and shades of peculiarity and made 
me more than ever sensible of the fact that 
the mere acts of baptism and laying on of 
hands did not make men and women holy. I 
met some of the finest and truest souls one 
could desire to associate with, and from that 
pinnacle of excellence the morals and spiritual 
sensibilities seemed to be graded till a much 
lower stratum was reached. 

My ministry was unto all. All the pecul- 
iarities that characterized people without the 
church also characterized those within. There 
were the lovers of the profound and there 
were those whom only the smatterer could 
please. There were men and women who 
had desire and place only for the quiet, steady 
communications of truth, while others, and 
the bigger part at that, loved the sensational 
and boisterous presentations. There were 
those with whom a solitary testimony of the 
truth lasted forever, and others who needed a 
repetition every few days or they stumbled 
and fell. 

There were those who were naturally 
endowed in the ordinary way with mental and 
moral qualities by or through which, without 
special or open revealments, they received 
steadily and continuously the helpful grace 
which enabled them to stand unmoved for 



198 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



the truth. On the other hand I found many 
who could hardly live from month to month 
without some extraordinary or supernatural 
manifestation. 

Again I observed that, even while open 
manifestations abounded, to the feasting and 
ecstasy of some, others present at such festi- 
vals seemed to almost starve, because their 
souls or mentality were not reached thereby. 
I found myself more frequently in tune with 
the latter class, and found my only joy on 
such occasions, in witnessing the pleasure of 
others. 

Furthermore, I discerned, or thought I did, 
that the enemy of souls occasionally took 
advantage of the susceptibility of some, and 
either directly supplied the demand for gifts 
himself or smilingly allowed the individual to 
overstep the line and, mistaking intense 
desire for Spirit authority, to supply the 
demand himself. 

On such occasions the spectacle was pain- 
ful, for I remembered that "the Lord will not 
hold him guiltless that taketh his name in 
vain." I observed, with sadness, that if a 
quiet testimony was being borne or prayer 
offered into which was meekly injected the 
voicing of the Spirit, but few seemed to dis- 
cern it, while a boisterous or demonstrative 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF 199 



cry of "Thus saith the Lord" almost invaria- 
bly produced a sensation upon quite a num- 
ber which was taken or mistaken for a 
"witness" that the approaching communica- 
tion was from God. 

I have stated that some of these discover- 
ies pained me. Let me give my reasons. 
First, because I clearly discerned that some 
of them were not from God; second, because 
the effect of them upon the average mind was 
not to establish men and women in the truth 
that Jesus was the Christ, but they were 
merely a temporary gratification of the inor- 
dinate desire that clamored for them ; third, 
because many of them communicated nothing, 
but were frequently a recital of oft-repeated 
phrases having no bearing upon the condi- 
tions existing in the localities where given ; 
fourth, because they had no beneficial effect 
upon the moral characters of those most 
receptive to them ; fifth, because some of 
them proved absolutely false ; sixth, because 
in some instances when I called the attention 
of older ministers to the apparent abnormi- 
ties, they, either from fear that a frank admis- 
sion of unreliability would weaken my faith, 
or because they were feeding at the same 
stall, would try to reason me into an indorse- 
ment of the medley. 



200 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



They did not know that such an indorse- 
ment would have been given at the expense 
of conscience and reason. I always believed 
that God knew more than I did and that his 
revealments would enlarge and expand rather 
than cramp and stultify the intellect and con- 
science of those to whom they came. But, 
reader, the chief burden upon my mind was 
caused by the lack of understanding as to how 
to proceed to correct the trouble. 

My mission was to save, not to destroy. 
To move abruptly or take radical ground 
might put me in a position where the very 
good I sught to do would, with myself, be 
evil spoken of. Those from whom I differed 
in appetite and judgment were probably as 
honest as myself, and had been attracted to 
the church, because some unwise elder had 
put a bigger display of such matter in the 
shop window of his discourses than was judi- 
cious or harmonious with the divine law that 
forbids such parade. 

How to get at the secret by which I could 
take a stand for the exact right in the matter 
and, at the same time, hold within the body 
those who most needed the benefit of correc- 
tive measures, was the question of questions, 
and I was not equal to it. To pit my child 
judgment against that of men would seem 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 201 



audacious. To array my inner consciousness 
against the conviction of a majority in locali- 
ties would involve the suspicion of egotism 
and destroy my influence. I found that 
knowledge and wisdom were not alike. I 
often wondered why God made me so differ- 
ent from other men, why I knew certain 
things and yet had not the material with 
which to make a convincing case before all. 
In other words, why he forced upon my inner 
being such convictions, but did not in actual 
words give me that which I could use as my 
authority against some of the things I was 
compelled to witness. 

Day after day I besought him in silent 
prayer to show me just how to move and 
what to do, but I heard no voice, saw no 
vision, received no angel visitor, dreamed no 
spiritual dream, nor obtained any supernatu- 
ral manifestation in open or visible form 
whatever. What had I, then, upon which to 
base my conduct in moving forward under the 
silent conviction of my soul ? 

Quietly I carried the trouble, trying at 
times to enter an occasional mild objection or 
protest, where my silence was being construed 
as a committal to things occurring, but rarely 
finding an appreciative response. I, of course, 
magnified the trouble, being inexperienced and 



202 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



fearful. While I was not susceptible to the 
influences referred to, I was extremely sensi- 
tive as to my fitness for the office I held, 
under the circumstances, and I about con- 
cluded, after some months, that the better 
way would be for me to go back to my old 
business and support the family of some good 
man who would be better qualified for the 
office of district president; but this seemed 
cowardly, and when reading the lectures on 
faith in the Book of Covenants one day, I 
became impressed with the idea that divine 
blessing comes in return for sacrifice, and I 
began to wonder what I could sacrifice in 
order to make myself more acceptable to 
God. 

Home, business, and money had all gone — 
what had I left ? After a time I agreed to 
begin a perpetual fast in a moderate sense. 
I entered a room at the house where I was 
then stopping and, upon my knees, cove- 
nanted with God that I would not use tea, 
coffee, nor flesh meat during the remainder of 
my life, if he would grant me my chief desire, 
wisdom as a gift, with ability to educate the 
Saints and preach the gospel to all. 

I expressed my willingness to have all the 
other gifts withheld, if these were only 
granted. I prayed long and earnestly, but 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 203 

the above embodies the special object of my 
petitition. Though I waited long, I received 
no reply, no communication, other than an 
assurance of peace, and of having done my 
best to get right. 

Moving on from thence, I continued labor- 
ing, and, though I got no special answer to 
my plea, I began to observe my part of the 
covenant, which, though made under the 
impulse that arose from deep anxiety and 
possible ignorance, I felt was made in candor 
and honesty, and that I was under moral obli- 
gation to observe it. Wise or unwise, I did 
it, and was ready for the consequences. In a 
short time I returned to Toronto, to look 
after home and branch interests there, and 
upon returning, found a letter awaiting me. 
It had the Piano postmark and was from 
President Joseph Smith, in answer to my 
inquiry about a matter of interest in the 
branch there. 

At the conclusion of the matter under con- 
sideration, he wrote as follows : (I give it 
verbatim, for the letter is before me, bearing 
date, August, 1878.) "Concerning yourself, 
Brother Luff, this is the voice of the 
Spirit to me: 'Say unto my servant 
Joseph Luff, that his sacrifices are accepted 



204 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



of me ; he shall receive wisdom to act 
for the good of my cause in his ministry, 
and I will bless him in preaching to the 
Saints and in declaring the gospel to them 
that are without. Other manifestations are 
withheld from him that he may be tried and 
sanctified. Let him labor diligently as he 
may be directed, being not impatient or over- 
hasty, and he shall reap a goodly harvest. 
He shall become an excellent counselor to 
the church and to the ministry, for unto this 
is he called. His heart shall be made glad in 
the truth. Amen.' " 

Upon a first reading of this I felt unusually 
glad. The covenant I made had been 
acknowledged, my sacrifices accepted, and the 
special qualifications I had sought for were 
promised. But the statements that "other 
manifestations are withheld from him that he 
may be tried and sanctified," were not so rel- 
ishable. I have since learned, however, from 
careful observation, that while God designs to 
"sanctify" all, he proceeds differently in sepa- 
rate cases. There are "differences of admin- 
istration and diversities of operations." One 
man is to be sanctified by a liberal outpour- 
ing of certain gifts upon him, while another is 
to be "sanctified" by their being "withheld." 
The conferring is to occur from necessity, but 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



205 



divine wisdom alone must decide as to the 
necessity and its degrees. 

While this discovery may have forced me 
into an attitude which has been misinter- 
preted by many at first sight and hearing, it 
nevertheless has strengthened my confidence 
in God and my hope for humanity. I see one 
Saint's faith kept alive and active by frequent 
open revealments, while another's is preserved 
by and manifest through severe trials and 
divine denials. Elisha's faith was great when 
he secured a withdrawal and afterwards a 
return of the rain; but Job's faith was 
greater when he suffered the loss of all he 
possessed and even health itself, yet in pros- 
pect of death from loathsome disease and 
with his wife advising a surrender of integ- 
rity, cried, " Thotigh he slay me yet will I trust 
him? 

One man's faith was manifest in working 
miracles, the other's in patient endurance 
under denial and severe affliction. Christ's 
faith was manifest in both, for in one instance 
we find him setting death at nought and 
delivering its captive, in another we find him 
pleading that a certain cup might pass from 
him, if it could be possible, yet upon the dis- 
covery that it was his Father's will that it 
should be otherwise, he temporarily surren- 



206 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



dered the exercise of his power over death 
and meekly drank and died. 

If the eleventh chapter of Hebrews be care- 
fully read, it will be found that by faith king- 
doms were subdued, lions' mouths were 
stopped, the violence of fire was quenched, 
armies were put to flight, dead were raised, 
the sword was turned away from saints, and 
all manner of wonders were achieved; but it 
will be well for all who call this alone the 
"faith once delivered to the saints," to read 
further and learn that "others had trial of 
cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover 
of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, 
they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were 
slain with the sword : they wandered about 
in sheepskins and goatskins ; being destitute, 
afflicted, tormented." '"They wandered in 
deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and 
caves of the earth." 

They had not the power or kind of faith to 
change their conditions. There were no 
miracles wrought to deliver them. There 
were no open manifestations of divine power 
in answer to their prayers for deliverance. 

But, remember, reader, that these all 
"received a good report, through faith," 
and the Inspired Translation finishes this 
chapter better than does the King James' 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 207 



with the remarkable statement that God 
had "provided some better things for them 
through their sufferings, for without suffer- 
ings they could not be made perfect." 

These strange truths stared me in the face 
when I read the revelation sent to me, and I 
naturally expected that others would rejoice 
and be "sanctified" by receiving much, while 
probably I would have to undergo a sanctify- 
ing process which involved many refusals and 
repeated withholdings. I vaguely surmised 
it then, I know it now. At that time it was 
faintly anticipated, but since then it has been 
painfully realized. 

We preach abroad that the gospel's mis- 
sion is not to bring God down to men, but 
men up to God ; yet, in our practices within, 
we too often show a determination to have 
him come below his own appointments in the 
matter of spiritual communications and meet 
us on the plane of self-gratification. Hence 
we too often get, not what is absolutely best 
for us, but what we choose for ourselves and 
steadily importuned for, determined to "take 
no denial" when we prayed. 

Many a Saint has stood well in adversity 
but perished when prosperity came. Many a 
minister has proven valiant and faithful when 
alone and away, battling for the truth under 



208 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



God's direction, but has wilted and waned 
after leaving the lonesomeness of such a life 
and moving into large branches where he 
hoped to have his desire for Saintly associa- 
tion gratified. 

It is better, always, to abide the seemingly 
slow and unpretentious methods of divine 
arrangement, even though we smart under 
them, than to draw a line for ourselves and 
insist that the Eternal shall walk by it. At 
least, the writer has so concluded after more 
than a dozen years of observation and experi- 
ence. 

One point in the revelation, contained in 
Bro. Joseph's letter, surprised me. It was 
the promise made towards its close. I could 
not fathom it nor realize its probability. I 
could not exactly doubt it; but it seemed too 
large to be real. However, I resolved that if 
it did fail of fulfillment it should not be 
because of my neglect to try and abide cheer- 
fully such conditions as should obtain in my 
life, nor because of my breaking the covenant 
I had made. 

Upon the first promises therein made, I 
have hundreds of times since planted myself, 
when worn out and mentally perplexed, and 
when I seemed to have not a single word to 
say from the platform to which I have been 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 209 



suddenly called, or when I had seemingly 
exhausted every resource of thought or argu- 
ment. I can solemnly declare that the 
divinity of that portion of the revelation has 
been attested in every instance of the kind. 

Following out the suggestions that fre- 
quently occurred to my mind thereafter, I 
learned the truth of another statement con- 
tained elsewhere in Bro. Joseph's letter; viz., 
that the Spirit would be with me in shaping 
my thoughts in times and cases of exigency 
to the work. In short, I learned that if I 
would but prove faithful in my conduct and 
in reporting myself for duty, God would take 
care of the credit of the work intrusted to me 
and would give me the experience most es- 
sential to my spiritual well-being. I tried 
from thenceforward to study human charac- 
ter in its varied phases, and to learn, if possi- 
ble, just what attitude Jesus would be likely 
to assume in view of such conditions as 
confronted me that I might, by such acquaint- 
ance, be better able to carry into effect the 
counsel he gave: "Occupy till I come." 

While I am painfully conscious of sad de- 
fects and deplorable failures, and have been a 
thousand times mortified over my misrepre- 
sentation of his character, in my practice, I 
nevertheless believe myself much nearer the 

14 



210 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



mark aimed at, than had I not covenanted 
and received the revelation referred to; hence 
that covenant is as much delighted in to-day 
as when years ago it was so innocently and 
enthusiastically made. Trying to act upon 
the advice, "Let him labor diligently as he 
may be directed, being not impatient or over- 
hasty," I have become convinced that no 
exigency ever takes the Lord by surprise, 
and that no labor thus performed is ever 
wasted. 

The revelation thus given did more for me 
than had it come directly to myself. It made 
me feel more than ever that we were members 
of a family and our Father knew nothing of 
the difficulties of distance. Though Bro. 
Joseph was six hundred miles away from me 
when I prayed and covenanted, yet the Spirit 
that heard me in Canada answered in Illinois. 
It undoubtedly gave to Bro. Joseph an insight 
into my character, condition, and needs, that 
he could not question, and by which he could 
the better "size me up" and counsel me at any 
future time. It proved to me that God still 
respected the organization he had effected, 
and honored Bro. Joseph as its earthly head. 
It disarmed the enemy of all power to after- 
wards persuade me that I had wrought myself 
up to a pitch of enthusiasm which made it 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 211 



easy for me to imagine anything compre- 
hended in my desire. It was impossible to 
human skill. It was contrary to Satanic prac- 
tice, having no sensational display attending 
it. It was divine and carried the impress of 
its author. 



212 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 



CHAPTER XII. 

"THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT. ' r 

O what a scale of miracles is here! 
Its lowest round high planted on the skies; 
Its towering summit lost beyond the thought 
Of man or angel. 

Youxg. 

So let it be. In God's own might 

We gird us for the coming fight, 

And, strong in him whose cause is ours 

In conflict with unholy powers, 

We grasp the weapons he has given, — 

The Light, and Truth, and Love of Heaven. 

Whittiek. 

After receiving this encouragement I 
resolved to continue and do my best. The 
fall district conference convened at which I 
was sustained as president and my work 
thereafter was performed with more confi- 
dence and hope. I feel it but just to here 
mention that, during these initial stages of 
my development, I was greatly helped and 
stimulated by the timely counsel and minis- 
trations of some good sisters, who as mothers 
in Israel seemed to consider the young and 
unexperienced ministry the objects of their 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 213 



jealous watchcare. Among them I will name 
Sr. Harriet Harrington, wife of Bro. Edgar 
Harrington, of London, (now of Kansas City, 
Kansas,) Srs. Janet and Rebecca Pearson, of 
Corinth, the two latter having been over a 
score of years in the work. When about dis- 
couraged or feeling downcast and almost 
spiritless, these sisters would invariably have 
a timely word of cheer or testimony of expe- 
rience which never failed to buoy up the sink- 
ing spirit and arouse the flagging zeal. As 
memory brings back those days and scenes, 
the lips instinctively pronounce a "God bless 
you" upon each of them and many others 
whom they represented. 

My diary to which I have not referred for 
data in this writing, contains several entries 
of healings and blessings which marked the 
course of my ministrations, but they are so 
common in the experience of nearly all Saints 
that I will not attempt to detail them. Suf- 
fice it that I mention an occasional instance. 
Others have been more remarkably blessed 
in this direction than I. May God add unto 
them a hundredfold more, if it please him, 
and let them dwell more particularly upon 
such themes" when they write for your in- 
formation and profit. 

One Sunday morning while preaching in 



214 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



the church at London, I noticed a stranger 
present, and in the evening, I saw him again 
with a woman by his side. Doubtless there 
were several visitors present, but to these 
strangers my attention was drawn because of 
the changing posture of the man as my dis- 
course continued. On the next Sunday 
evening I was informed that this man (whose 
name was Rae) desired me to call on him. 
He had while working in the cooper shop of 
the oil refinery, fallen backward into a large 
caldron of boiling glue, and had been terribly 
burned. Taking some oil, I started for his 
house, in company with Elder George Mot- 
tashed, Edgar Harrington, and others. Upon 
entering and ascending the stairs, we found 
it almost impossible to endure the stench oc- 
casioned by the glue and putrid flesh. 

The accident had occurred on Friday, and 
the doctor had bandaged the poor sufferer in 
cotton and applied such lotions as were com- 
mon in medical practice. We found the poor 
man with his elbows and the lower portion of 
his arms resting upon pillows, so, also, his 
limbs from the knees down and his chin 
propped with cushions. His back, which was 
upward, was one mass of blackened and 
blistered flesh, extending around under and 
unto his breast and stomach, also down his 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 215 



limbs and up to his neck, then over his arms. 
It was sickening to behold. 

Going up to the bedside, I told him who 
we were and that we had come at his bidding. 
He then informed us that his name was Wil- 
liam Rae, that he had been an ignorant per- 
secutor of the Saints, but had been influenced 
to go and hear us the Sunday before, that 
what he heard had so surprised and pleased 
him that he took his wife out at night, and he 
was of the opinion that we had the truth, and 
would like to know if we were willing to give 
him the benefit of our prayers and faith. 

At his request for administration, we took 
all the bandages off and poured the conse- 
crated oil upon his festering flesh and brushed 
it around with a feather, then wrapped clean 
cloths around him and in prayer committed 
him and our work to God, while our hands 
rested upon his head. He told us that the 
pain ceased with the anointing, and that he 
was determined to trust God. 

Next morning we returned and adminis- 
tered to him again and arranged with Bro. 
William Burch to stay and nurse him for a 
few days. This method of procedure was 
new to the household, and Mrs. Rae inquired 
of us what she should do when the doctor 
arrived. Without waiting for either of us to 



216 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



answer, her husband called out to dismiss the 
doctor as he intended to trust in God. This 
had the effect of making her feel apprehensive 
and we therefore advised her to act her own 
pleasure in the matter. Mr. Rae, however, 
protested against allowing any further medi- 
cal interference, and said he was ready to 
take the consequences. An hour later the 
doctor came and was told that his services 
were no longer required. Upon inquiring he 
learned the reason for this sudden change in 
the programme and he became angry. Going 
down stairs he warned Mrs. Rae against the 
extreme fanaticism which would result in her 
husband's death in all probability. He said 
that the ninth day would settle the matter, 
and, though her husband was evidently much 
better now, he would never tide over the 
critical point a week hence unless skillfully 
treated by a physician. Mrs. Rae was trou- 
bled and inclined to yield, but her husband 
was inflexible, and so the doctor left. 

Next day the Free Press contained the fol- 
lowing article: — 

London, Ont., Feb. 22, 1879. 

The leading spirits of the Latter Day 
Saints in this village claim to have performed 
a miracle. It will be remembered that a man 
named Wm. Rae was badly scalded at the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 217 



Victor oil works several days ago. Dr. 
DeLom was called in and attended the man 
for four days, getting him, by skillful treat- 
ment, out of danger. At this stage the chief 
Saints of the above-mentioned sect put in an 
appearance, and informed the doctor his serv- 
ices would be no longer required, as they 
wished to "anoint the injured man, and heal 
him by a miracle." They took the precau- 
tion, however, to ask the doctor if he would 
resume his treatment in case the miracle 
failed. He very naturally replied in the 
negative. Nothing daunted, they set to work, 
removed all the dressing, anointed their sub- 
ject and went through the ceremony incident 
to the performance of their miracles. Strange 
to say the miracle did not in any way inter- 
fere with the previous action of Dr. DeLom's 
treatment, and Rae continued to progress 
favorably. It seems a trifle strange, however, 
that these economical healers did not "per- 
form" on the injured man previous to the 
time mentioned, but they evidently had "a 
method in their madness." 

This drew forth from me the following 
reply: — 

TRUTH VS. RUMOR. 

Editor Free Press: — In your issue for Sat- 
urday evening last, under the head of "Lon- 



218 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



don East Notes," a paragraph appears 
containing many misstatements. Now, inas- 
much as you have published the matter 
referred to, and it is calculated to create a 
false impression upon the mind of the public, 
to the injury, perhaps, of the Latter Day 
Saints in London, will you kindly allow us, 
through your columns, the privilege of pre- 
senting the facts as they occurred, and which 
may be abundantly proven. When Rae was 
badly scalded, on Friday morning, Dr. 
DeLom came at the request of others, and 
against the expressed wish of Mr. Rae. He 
attended him three days (not four), and on 
the fourth morning was informed by Mr. Rae 
that his services were no longer required, and 
he has not attended him since. If his skillful 
treatment brought the man out of danger, 
then the praise is for him ; but he informed 
Mrs. Rae to the contrary, and told her to 
watch him about the ninth day, etc. The 
"chief Saints" referred to never saw the doctor 
at all, hence the statement that "they informed 
him that his services were no longer required, 
as they were going to anoint the injured man 
and heal him by a miracle," also that they 
"took the precaution to ask a resumption of 
the doctors treatment in case the miracle 
failed," is a glaring falsehood. The Saints 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 219 



referred to never heard of the accident until 
Sunday, when they were specially requested by 
Mr. Rae (through his messenger) to come up 
and administer to him according to the direc- 
tion given in James 5: 14, 15, which they did 
that evening. This statement will perhaps 
remove the cause for wonder "why these eco- 
nomical healers did not perform before." 
They never mentioned "miracle," nor do they 
now "claim that a miracle has been wrought." 
Whatever conversation was had with the 
doctor in the house was by Mr. and Mrs. Rae 
themselves, not the "chief Saints." Mr. Rae 
is still alive, and willing to answer any ques- 
tions put to him. It would be well, therefore, 
before the result of his injury is finally 
decided, for interested parties to visit the 
house and inquire of him or his wife as to the 
truth of either of the contrary statements. 
Truth, being scarce, is precious, and some- 
times found where not expected, as well as 

vice versa. ^ ^ r n 

Respectfully yours, 

Joseph Luff. 

London East, February 24, 1879. 

We noticed in a couple of days that the 
old flesh was fast dropping off and that under 
it there were patches all over his body, look- 
ing like pools of blood at first, covered with 



220 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



a fine transparent skin. I had occasion to 
leave the city just then, but on returning 
after some days, called again at the house 
and found several Saints there, and Mr. Rae 
seated in a corner of the room with the com- 
pany. It was peculiarly gratifying, and I felt 
to praise God more than ever before. 

As I started to leave, he rose, and coming 
over to me, stretched out his hand saying: , 
"These signs shall follow them that believe." 
Together we rejoiced and praised the kind 
Father who had acknowledged us so gra- 
ciously. 

On another occasion after laboring steadily 
in a new field I reached London, desiring to 
get to Toronto, one hundred and twenty 
miles away, to fill appointments for Sunday. 
This was on Friday and I had left an appoint- 
ment for the following Tuesday at the place 
of my recent labor, expecting to return in 
time to fill it. I had about three dollars in 
my pocket, and the fare to Toronto and back 
was six dollars and forty cents. I knew there 
was no financial help for me in Toronto even 
though I got there. Not knowing what to 
do, I went to God in prayer, but received 
no light, except that the revelation before 
referred to came to my mind, and especially 
the part where God had promised me "wis- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 221 



dom to act for the good of his cause in my 
ministry." 

I rose and, after thinking for a few minutes 
as to what would be the wisest thing to do, 
decided to go up town and telegraph to the 
Toronto Saints that I could not get there, so 
that they could cancel the appointments. 
Telling Bro. Edgar Harrington of my conclu- 
sion, he agreed with me that it was best, and 
started up town with me to the telegraph 
office, arranging by the way, that I should 
spend Sunday in London. 

There were two telegraph companies in 
Canada, the Montreal and the Dominion, and, 
never having done any business except with 
the former, I determined to go to its office on 
this occasion. In doing so, we had to pass 
the office of the Dominion Company. After 
walking a number of steps past, an impression 
seized me to stop, which we did, and laughing 
at the fogyism that was taking us some blocks 
further than was necessary, simply to keep up 
an old custom, we turned around and I 
walked back to the office we had passed, 
leaving Bro. Harrington outside. 

After entering the office and seizing the 
tablet containing blank spaces for writing 
messages, I dropped my head thoughtfully 
upon my hand and sought to reduce the com- 



222 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



munication to as few words as possible, 
before writing. While thus in thought, I 
espied a handbill lying on the counter, with 
the words, "Excursion to Toronto" in large 
letters thereon. Picking it up, I read, in 
addition to the above, "Tickets good for 
return till Tuesday. Fare, $2.00. Train 
leaves at five p. m. to-day." 

Rushing out to where Bro. Harrington 
stood, I read it aloud to him. There was 
but one hour before train-leaving time, so, 
hurrying along, we secured my satchel and by 
quick motion got to the depot in time. I 
never saw another copy of that handbill till 
the depot was reached. I learned that the 
excursion had been determined upon sud- 
denly, to connect with certain excursion trains 
leaving Toronto for Montreal. 

Paying my two dollars and receiving a 
return ticket therefor, I boarded the train and 
rolled into Toronto a little after midnight and 
found my wife quite sick and the branch in a 
poor condition. There was much to be done 
the following day and three meetings for Sun- 
day, besides extra work, necessitated by the 
condition of the branch as already referred 
to. My coming was opportune; the branch 
was helped into shape again and after visit- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



223 



ing and administering and doing home chores 
on Monday, I was tired out and threw myself 
upon a lounge to rest. My mind was wor- 
ried over my wife's sickness, as she was worse 
than on my arrival. Her anxiety for the 
church had made her less thoughtful of her- 
self and she had kept a knowledge of her real 
feelings from me lest I should relax my 
efforts elsewhere in order to relieve her. But 
tired, suffering nature was compelled to yield 
at last and I felt troubled as the evidence of 
her suffering faced me. Three times she had 
gone down stairs to iron the clothes she 
had washed for me on Saturday, and as 
many times she had returned to rest. Finally 
on coming into my room she aroused me 
from the half stupor into which I had fallen, 
by dropping on her knees before the couch, 
and exclaiming, "I can't live long this way, 
for I am nearly dead now!" 

Allowing her head to fall upon my breast, 
she moaned and seemed to be suffering con- 
siderably. I do not remember uttering a 
word; but lifting my left arm, which hung 
down to the floor, I brought it around her 
head and placed my hand upon her forehead. 
My heart was then lifted to God in one ear- 
nest mental prayer, asking that, if my work 
was accepted and should be continued as per 



224 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



appointments made, he would instantly heal 
my wife. 

It was a brief petition, but at that moment 
I seemed to have hold upon the promises of 
the word, and there was a necessity that I 
should prevail. I was physically exhausted 
and dropped off into a doze almost instantly 
afterwards, only to be awakened by a move- 
ment on the part of my wife. Upon express- 
ing my grief over her condition, she smiled 
and looked up, exclaiming, "I never felt bet- 
ter in my life!" 

I affected surprise at hearing such a state- 
ment after what she had uttered not five 
minutes before, but looking into my face, with 
a kind of quizzical expression in her own, she 
asked, "Haven't you been praying for me?" 
Then rising, she actually skipped with glee 
before me, and hurried down stairs to finish 
her ironing. That night I rested well, and at 
seven a. m. next day I was aboard the train 
and whirling away to fill my appointments two 
hundred and more miles away. 

Perhaps there was nothing remarkable in 
all this from first to last, but as I boarded 
that train and thought over the parting that 
had just taken place between myself and wife 
and the two little treasurers God had given 
us, and while my heart was sad to a degree, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 225 



there came stealing over me a something that 
brought the prayer in London, the telegraph 
office, the handbill, the unusually low-rate 
excursion, the branch troubles, and the sick 
and suffering wife in panorama before me, 
and, as I thought that I was now leaving her 
in health, and able to go on with my work 
for God and humanity, something said, "There 
is a divinity in it all." 

I know some may reason it all away and 
consider it a happening merely; but, dear 
readers, I perfer to believe these were evi- 
dences that the angels were interested in me 
and mine. The thought comforts me ; hence 
my will to indulge it. 

Soon after this I moved my family to Lon- 
don where we located, after they had spent a 
time visiting Saints at Carlingford. We 
rented a couple of rooms in a small house and 
continued to occupy them until our removal 
from Canada. 

About the close of March, 1879, I started 
westward to attend General Conference, leav- 
ing my family behind and expecting to return 
in a few weeks. Upon reaching Piano I found 
that one of the brethren employed in the Her- 
ald Office was about to take a vacation for his 
health's sake, and needed a "sub" to fill his 
place. I volunteered my services, and, after 

15 



226 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



conference, began to work as a "typo" on the 
Herald. My stay in the office was prolonged 
unexpectedly, until about the time for hold- 
ing the fall conference at Galland's Grove, 
Iowa, during which time I did considerable 
preaching at Piano, Catville, Mission, Sand- 
wich, and Shabbona Grove, on Sundays and 
at vacation intervals. 

About two months after leaving home, our 
third child was born, and in less than a month 
thereafter my family moved to Piano, Illinois, 
where they remained till my return from the 
fall conference. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



227 



CHAPTER XIII. 
FIRST MISSION TO UTAH. 

Home, with thy wealth of love. 

To thee, with pain intense, 
I say farewell, for he who gave 

Thy joys, hath bid me hence. 

Early during the sessions of conference 
my name, together with the names of W. W. 
Blair, Charles Derry, R. J. Anthony, G. E. 
Deuel, and E. W. Tullidge, was presented for 
appointment to the Utah mission. Action 
upon the recommendation was deferred for a 
couple of days, during which time I heard a 
considerable amount of earnest talk over the 
advisability of sending one so young as I on 
such an important mission and among such 
people as the Utah Mormons. Several per- 
sons told me they felt apprehensive and 
would not vote for it. Brethren Z. H. Gur- 
ley, W. H. Kelley, and a number of others in 
authority, informed me of their intention to 
oppose my appointment out of regard for me. 
To each and all I made answer that I was in 
the hands of God and the church, and wanted 
to go only where the Spirit directed. 



228 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



While the case thus rested, I repaired a 
number of times to quiet places of seclusion 
and committed myself to God, urging that, in 
this important matter, he would manifest his 
will, and turn or overturn if necessary, so that 
the final action of conference in the matter 
might be an expression of his purpose regard- 
ing me. Thus I rested the matter, feeling 
assured my prayer would be answered, but 
not knowing just where it would leave me. 
Before time for voting came many privately 
remarked that it was too bad to sacrifice me 
in such a way, and I heard them refer to the 
bad effects of that mission upon several whom 
they named. 

The day for action at last came, and to my 
surprise, not a word in opposition was 
uttered, not a question as to making an 
exception in my case was asked, and the 
motion to appoint was adopted by a unani- 
mous vote, so far as could be judged; hence 
I took it for granted that all was right and 
determined to abide the conclusion. 

A few hours later, during recess, I asked 
some of the brethren who had decided to 
oppose the matter why they had kept silent 
and then voted contrary to their statements 
to me. The answer was in each case, about 
like this: "I don't know, but somehow I 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



229 



changed my mind about it." Two or three 
persons stated, however, that while they could 
not oppose it, they nevertheless felt appre- 
hensive, because of my youth and inexperi- 
ence. During the conversation Bro. A. H. 
Smith was sitting on a bench at the end of 
the rostrum and I stood by him. Turning to 
the brethren speaking, I thanked them for 
their interest in me, but submitted two ques- 
tions to them in order, asking for direct 
answers. First, I desired to know whether, 
according to their calculation, the missions 
under this church's appointment were to be 
conducted in the wisdom and strength of men 
or of God. They instantly answered, "That 
of God, certainly." Then my second ques- 
tion was, "Is it any harder for God to keep 
and use a young man than an old one, simply 
on the ground of age?" 

I remember just how Brother Alexander 
punched one of them on the shoulder and 
laughingly called on him to "Chew on that!" 

I then added that, so far as I had observed, 
it was the older men who fell in such cases. 
While they were young, they had humbly 
trusted in God and were preserved ; but, 
when older, they had trusted to their experi- 
ence and past conquests, forgetting where 
their safety and strength lay, and had fallen. 



230 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



A ereat many matters were discussed and 

<_> <■ 

decided at that conference, but my appoint- 
ment was of most importance to me. I was 
to make my first long trip and stay from 
home and to work among a people, who, 
according to my idea, had forgotten more 
than I then knew. It was a solemn affair for 
one who was only three years old in the 
church, and the more I thought about it, the 
nearer it became a case of heart failure with 
me, till one day, just after a meeting had 
closed and Brother Joseph was still standing 
upon the platform, I climbed up at the rear 
end of it and, being quite close to him, told 
him of the apprehensions expressed by some, 
and asked him how he felt about it. 

I shall never forget his answer. Turning 
partly around and looking me full in the eyes, 
he held forth his hand, which I took in mine, 
and as the tears started from his own eyes, 
he said, "Bro. Luff, you are one of the men 
whom I can trust anywhere on God's green 
earth. It is all right; go, and God go with 
you." Welling up from within me, I felt just 
then, a something rise that swept before it all 
my apprehensions and left nothing but a 
sense of rest. 

A few minutes later, when entering the tent 
of Bro. George Hawley, I was about passing 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 231 



Bro. Joseph who was standing at the door in 
conversation with Bro. John T. Kirinaman 
when he stopped me and repeated the above 
words, with slight variations, calling Bro. 
Kinnaman's attention to the fact that he had 
before uttered them. I was not affected to 
dizziness nor carried off my terra fir ma by 
the compliment thus paid; but thought then, 
have thought a number of times since, and 
still think, that I would sooner lose my head 
than betray that cofidence. I had reason 
long before for believing that he "spiritually 
discerned" me, and was not without reason 
then for thinking that my heart's integrity 
rather than my brain competency was the 
basis upon which he and the Spirit figured in 
that utterance. I did not feel flattered then 
nor do I feel any measure of vanity now, in 
writing it, but it made me resolve never to 
betray or lessen the confidence it expressed. 

Returning from conference I found my wife 
anxious to move to Independence, Missouri. 
Her father, stepmother, four sisters, and 
brother were all there or near by. She 
believed she could make her permanent home 
there with more contentment than anywhere 
else, if I was to be abroad the rest of my life. 
• Hence we packed up once more and started, 
leaving Piano on the 31st of October, 1879 



232 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



(my twenty-seventh birthday), and arrived 
at Independence on the following day. 

We put up at the house of my father-in- 
law, Bro. John Parker, for a few days, then 
secured a small house in the north end of 
town into which we moved. After patching 
up the old fences and barn, and doing inside 
work for a couple of weeks, I once more 
packed my trunk and satchels, gave and 
received the parting words, looks, and em- 
braces, and started away on the longest term 
of separation from family I had yet known. 

Let others dwell on these scenes of part- 
ing, if they can. With me, the least said as 
nearly describes the real experience as could 
a volume. Words cannot reach it. Lan- 
guage is inadequate ; nor is there need for an 
attempted description, if success were possi- 
ble. If, reader, you have tried to make your 
home, though humble it may be, your earthly 
paradise, look once into the faces and listen 
to the words of those who have furnished its 
chief enchantment and have made it above all 
places on earth the one desirable and hallowed 
spot, and then think of separation for long 
months, and resting only on faith for a return, 
and try to say, "Good-bye." Your heart will 
then furnish, better than can the writer's 
pen, all that is of advantage to know. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 233 



At Council Bluffs I met Brethren Blair, 
Anthony, and Deuel, with whom I remained 
over Sunday, preaching once, and started 
early the following week. We were joined 
at Columbus, Nebraska, by Bro. Derry and 
from thence continued our journey till we 
reached the Mecca of Utah Mormonism, 
Salt Lake City. 

The scenery along the route was grand and 
majestic. Pens with better descriptive skill 
than mine have staggered in the attempt to 
do justice to the sublimity and magnificence 
of that panorama, hence I shall not commit 
my imbecile quill to the task for which it is so 
inadequate. 

While tarrying at Council Bluffs, true to 
my boyish instinct I ran to a fire one cold 
night, and took cold in my face. The drafts 
from the train windows fanned the original 
deposit, so that by the time we arrived at 
Salt* Lake City I was ready to ornament any 
pedestal and pose as a model "swell head." 

I was assigned a home with Brother and 
Sister Joseph O. Clark, in the tenth ward, 
where, under the motherly care and treatment 
of "mine hostess" my superfluous bloat and 
ill-humor were soon disposed of and I was 
again ready to look a good-humored man in the 
face. I made my home with Brother and Sis- 



234 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ter Clark for a couple of months or more and 
was entertained royally, when they left the 
city on a visit to their daughter in Cache 
Valley. I then moved to the home of Brother 
and Sister Thomas Hudson, where I made 
my headquarters during the remainder of my 
stay in the territory. They were father and 
mother to me and never can I forget the lov- 
ing, pleasant spirit Bro. Hudson always 
exhibited, and how he anxiously guarded and 
cared for me as his own. He has since been 
taken to his rest in the paradise of God. May 
the good Lord reward, as he only can, their 
kindness to the writer when he so much 
needed their ministrations. 

Brn. Blair and Derry preached on the first 
Sunday, after our arrival, in the old Seventies* 
hall, after which the Liberal Institute was 
secured and a series of meetings announced. 

A missionary council was held and our 
several divisions of the territory agreed upon. 
I was assigned a field south of the city, 
with Provo for my headquarters. It was 
arranged that we all remain and finish the 
series of meetings before separating and 
that a letter be drawn up addressed to 
President John Taylor of the L T tah Church, 
announcing our arrival and purpose, as also 
our readiness for a private or public inter- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 235 



view and discussion of the questions involved 
in our antagonistic work. 

This letter was afterwards prepared by Bro. 
Blair and indorsed by the other missionaries, 
when it was mailed to President Taylor, but 
provoked no acknowledgement or reply. It 
was then published in the Salt Lake Tribune 
and Saints Advocate, and thus the people of 
Utah were apprised of our arrival and design. 

The first discourse of the series referred to 
was delivered by Bro. Derry, and my name 
was published for the second. After hearing 
Bro. Derry's effort, together with the two 
Sunday sermons preceding it, I concluded 
that there was nothing left to be said, or, at 
least, if there was it was outside of the realm 
of my knowledge. Next day I thought and 
read and prayed; but it seemed as if there 
was not even a nail left for me to hancr a ser- 
mon on. Feeling thus badly, I shut myself 
up in the room and wept, wondering whether, 
after all, I was not mistaken in believing God 
sent me there. Night came, and with it the 
time for meeting. While walking to the hall 
I earnestly prayed that God would give me 
undoubted assurance of his will concerning 
my stay, by imparting a special qualification 
to me when rising to speak. There was 
quite a large turnout, and there were several 



236 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ministers and prominent men on the big plat- 
form besides our own missionaries. 

During-* the preliminary services my knees 
knocked together and I groaned in spirit, but 
the revelation sent through Bro. Joseph to 
me over a year before, came to my mind, and 
against its promises I braced my trembling 
confidence. Rising to speak, the picture of 
David and Goliath came before my mind and 
in a few words I referred to it and expressed 
my opinion of its resemblance to the present 
situation. I had scarcely done this when I 
became conscious of the descent of something 
(which I have since described as feeling like 
a mantle) that rested on me and encircled me. 
Instantly my brain seemed fired, my tongue 
loosed, and my range of vision and thought 
extended. The Book of Mormon and the 
Book of Doctrine and Covenants seemed to 
unfold their meaning and suggest their intro- 
duction, while many of the passages therein 
which I at one time had looked upon as being 
at least unnecessary or unimportant, took on a 
special significance and a divine potency, and 
for an hour and a half I traversed that long 
platform and, without interruption, talked on 
the living issues of the campaign we had 
inaugurated. There was no room for self- 
congratulation, for what was there used was 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 237 



given of God, and the ability to apply it came 
with each argument. To God alone be the 
praise. 

So remarkable was the manifestation on 
this occasion that it was immediately decided 
to change the programme we had arranged, 
and the brethren determined that I should 
remain for some time in the city; so for five 
months Bro. Blair and myself kept the work 
moving there, holding four meetings a week 
most of the time, and occasionally visiting 
other points convenient thereto. 

Never in my life before or since, have I 
experienced a more marvelous ministration of 
the Spirit in preaching than during this, my 
first mission in Utah. No condition or exi- 
gency seemed to find me unprepared. Never 
had my trust in God been so complete, and 
never was my satisfaction more perfect. 
Weak of myself, I committed all to the Mas- 
ter and he strengthened me throughout. 

At the expiration of about five months, it 
was thought best that I should go south as 
far as Provo and the towns convenient 
thereto. I therefore started and began opera- 
tions in the Methodist church in Provo. 
Prior to starting south for continuous work, 
however, I visited Union Fort and preached 
in the schoolhouse for two nights by the per- 



238 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 

mission of Bishop Ishmael Phillips. At the 
enci of the second night's discourse, the 
Bishop, as soon as the benediction was pro- 
nounced, called the people to order and 
requested them to stay a few minutes to hear 
him. He then took the stand and poured his 
vials of wrath upon my devoted head for 
twenty minutes, not noticing the points or 
arguments by me submitted, however, but 
simply abusing me and the nasty Josephites 
in general. 

During his harangue he insinuatingly 
referred to the risk I was taking by such a 
course in the hive of Deseret. The bees 
were numerous and might get angry and I 
should remember it was their country and 
they had just cause for provocation, etc. I 
asked for five minutes to answer him, but he 
refused even one. I then notified the people 
that a bluff game would not work with me. I 
had come to visit, but was now resolved to 
stay till they heard me out and would preach 
at the home of Bro. Wm. P. Smith close by. 

At the time appointed, quite a number 
came, and I notified them, in the course of 
the service, of my intention to stay in that 
region till they recognized me. I urged them 
to send to Salt Lake City and import talent 
to defend them if they had not sufficient in 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 239 



the locality. Waxing more bold than wise 
perhaps, I told them we expected to be able 
to preach there when some of them dare not 
do so. 

The result of my persistence or obstinancy 
was that a debate was finally arranged for 
between Elder Rupert Brown and myself on 
the polygamy question. He left me to choose 
the place, and he was to arrange the time. 
He agreed publicly that it should be a fair 
issue, he to represent authoritatively the 
Brighamite and I, the Josephite Church. 
Salt Lake City was then named as the place 
and we left him to set the time. He agreed 
to come to the city in a couple of days to 
select a hall and publish the time. 

After waiting some days, without getting 
word from him, I wrote to him for explana- 
tions and learned that President John Taylor 
had forbidden him the liberty of representing 
their church and of holding- a debate in Salt 
Lake City. He expressed his willingness to 
meet me in the country schoolhouse fifteen 
miles away, and agreed to afterwards come 
and repeat it in Salt Lake City within thirty 
days on his own responsibility, shoidd I desire 
it. 

With the last item, over his own signature, 
in my possession I agreed to go and meet 



240 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 



him. We held for two nights, when he 
seemed to have run out of matter, or to have 
discovered that his stock-in-trade was value- 
less, and he announced a close of the discus- 
sion. 

I then rose and challenged him to meet me 
the following Saturday and commence on the 
subject again in Salt Lake City, producing 
his letter to prove his promise. He admitted 
the promise but declined to fulfill, assigning 
as a reason that it might sour his employer's 
feelings to go off again so soon, and the 
expense of hall, travel, etc., were more than 
he could stand. I then agreed to extend the 
time for two months, to provide a hall and 
meet all expenses, but he would not consent 
to again discuss with me, and the matter so 
ended. 

I was satisfied with the result of the 
short contest. Brn. Anthony and Deuel 
were present and said it was a pronounced 
victory, but there was not much credit attach- 
ing to a victory over an enemy so poorly 
equipped as was Elder Brown. He under- 
stood the use of his weapons well enough, 
but they were not calculated for a conflict 
with a "Josephiter." (On my last trip to 
Utah, in 1885, I went to Union Fort and 
preached in the absence of Bishop Phillips, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 241 



he having taken a vacation to escape the 
clutches of the deputy marshals. I called the 
attention of those present to what I had told 
them years before, about my preaching there 
sometime when they dare not. A few of them 
winced when we remarked that the tables 
were turning and the "Josephites" were get- 
ting on top.) 

By letter from Elder William Summerfield, 
now (1892) laboring as missionary in Utah, I 
learn of the death of Elder Rupert Brown, 
and of the fact that he left the Utah Church 
soon after our debate. His statement to sev- 
eral was that he would not have discussed 
with me had he known that "the books" were 
against him. How many hundreds there are 
still in that apostate church, who honestly 
believe, upon the word of their leaders, that 
the books are in their favor, and who are 
unwilling, nevertheless, to go and hear the 
men of the Reorganization who confine them- 
selves entirely to the testimony of these 
books. We met scores of them, over thirty 
years of age who had never read a line in 
either the Book of Mormon or Book of Doc- 
trine and Covenants, and many who had 
never seen a copy of either to their knowl- 
edge, yet who would rather believe their lead- 
ers' testimony as to the contents and meaning 



242 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



of those books, than accept of our advice to 
read for themselves. Still, in their blind and 
inconsistent course they claim to be the "light 
of the world." But back to the thread of 
recital. 

Calling on the Methodist minister at Provo, 
the use of his church was asked for. He 
offered it conditionally; was willing that I 
should fight Brighamism hard and steady, 
knock it into fragments, so that there would 
not be enough left to sweep up, but did not 
want me to present those "peculiarly distin- 
guishing features" of our faith, by which any 
"orthodox" body would be antagonized. He 
did not wish the Book of Mormon or Joseph 
Smith and like questions to be ventilated. 

In reply I told him that the English of all 
that, as I interpreted it, was that I was to 
denounce heresy and sin, not because they 
were heresy and sin, but simply because they 
happened to have lodgment in the Brighamite 
Church, that, if I happened in my preaching 
to run across the like anywhere outside of 
that church, I must not notice it. It was the 
location of the wrong and not the wrong 
itself I was to antagonize. I added that he 
might keep his building closed till the day of 
judgment, if those were the conditions, for my 
liberty was worth more than his house. If I 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 243 



went in, my liberty must go in with me. 

This sudden change in the appearance of 
his visitor from the attitude of a humble appli- 
cant to that of an independent preacher of a 
truth he esteemed bigger than a Methodist 
chapel, rather took him by surprise, and, as I 
rose to leave, he intimated that he was anxious 
to be liberal and guessed I could have the 
church anyhow. 

Thus I entered untrammeled and preached 
without regard to the proximity of either 
Mormons or Methodists as such. So unex- 
pectedly successful was the effort in securing 
large audiences, that the minister requested 
me to fill his Sunday appointments, which I 
did, continuing until compelled to send for 
Bro. Blair to come to my aid, as I was wear- 
ing out from constant preaching every night 
and twice on Sunday. 

Springville was my next point, where Bro. 
Blair came to relieve me again, and in each 
of these places we kept up running appoint- 
ments for some time. At each place I bap- 
tized several persons and thus continued until 
the fall of 1880. Bro. Blair was in charge of 
the mission, and I found him to be what I 
had always believed and still believe of him, a 
man of sterling integrity and one whose love 
for the gospel overreached every other con- 



244 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 



sideration and made him a willing toiler and 
endurer for its sake. He was a splendid 
president, companion, counselor, and co- 
worker. 

My preaching during this mission was 
rather of the radical stripe, and many persons 
feared that I would meet foul play at the 
hands of some reckless dupe of priestcraft, but 
fear on that score never troubled me. One 
evening a young man, answering closely to 
my description, was stabbed, when passing 
the alley next the Salt Lake theater. It was 
on the evening of my regular appointment 
and on the line of my regular home journey. 

When reading the account next morning in 
the paper, it struck me that possibly the aim 
was for me, and on the following Sunday I 
was quietly approached by a gray-bearded 
gentleman, who called my attention to the 
circumstance, and informed me that it was 
intended for me. He said he knew whereof 
he affirmed but was not in a position to tell 
anything. He wished us prosperity in our 
work but would not openly avow it. He 
warned me against going out alone after dark, 
and advised that I always take the road 
rather than the tree-shaded sidewalks. I 
thanked him for his interest but told him to 
rest easy for no harm would come to me. I 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 245 



don't know how much or little of truth there 
was in his statement ; but one thing I be- 
lieved ; namely, that I would return to the 
church in the East in safety. One reason for 
this was because I accepted the following vis- 
ion given to a sister, as being from God: — 

She saw a large building and just in front 
of it a large, deep pool, like a cesspool. The 
corruption seemed to have worked into the 
basement of the building. While looking at 
it and wondering what it meant, she saw me 
enter the building and go over to a table and 
write my name in clear characters on a sheet 
of clean paper which was lying there. I then 
went outside and stood by the side of the 
pool, surveying it for a moment; then I 
stepped down into it and started for the oppo- 
site side. She trembled for me as she saw 
me go down deeper and deeper, yet fearlessly 
until I could barely hold my chin up out of 
the filthy flood. I then, as I passed the mid- 
dle, began to step up, the pool becoming 
shallower as I neared the other side. As my 
shoulders, arms, body, and finally my limbs 
and feet came up, she noticed to her astonish- 
ment that my clothes were as clean as when I 
stepped into the pool. 

Just as I reached the shore or solid landing 
on the other side, a most beautiful woman, 



246 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



arrayed in neat and becoming attire, and with 
joyous expression on her countenance, ap- 
peared, and, putting her arms around me, 
embraced me affectionately, and retired with 
me. The vision then vanished. 

If the building represented the Utah struc- 
ture, the pool its doctrinal philosophy, and 
the beautiful woman the Reorganized Church, 
then all is clear; for I recorded my name in 
the center of their stronghold ; I waded chin 
deep into their abominable heresies ; I came 
back without moral taint from contact ; and 
was welcomed gloriously at the fall confer- 
ence upon my return. 

During my stay I had baptized thirty-five 
persons. To Him who made all this possible 
for a stripling elder, I here, as often before, 
ascribe my gratitude and praise. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 247 



CHAPTER XIV. 
FROM WEST TO EAST. 

I have not seen, I may not see, 

My hopes for man take form in fact, 
But God will give the victory 

In due time: in that faith I act. 
And he who sees the future sure, 

The baffling present may endure, 
And bless, meanwhile, the unseen Hand that leads 

The heart's desires beyond the halting step of 
deeds. 

Whittier. 

The clouds, which rise with thunder, slake 

Our thirsty souls with rain ; 
The blow most dreaded falls to break 

From off our limbs a chain, 
And wrongs of man to man but make 

The love of God more plain. 

Whittier. 

At the conferences of 1880 and 1881, the 
question of sending out only the Twelve and 
Seventy on missions until no more available 
men were found therein, was discussed and 
the rule obtained. I favored it, though by it 
I was excluded. My belief was that if there 
were men outside of those quorums more 
worthy of missions than some within, the 
Lord certainly knew it and he should be con- 



248 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



suited upon the matter, with a view to having 
the unworthy ones within removed and others 
substituted. 

I did not believe that good men should be 
barred from service because drones occupied 
the quorums from which selection was to be 
made; but it was evident that unavailable 
men held many of the places, and it seemed 
to me that the best way to force a necessary 
change, by getting drones out and workers in, 
was to support the above legislation and 
thereby compel the work of reconstruction in 
order to honor the law and, at the same time, 
make room for willing workers. 

That such was the result is evidenced by 
the fact that many names, probably forty or 
thereabout, were dropped from the Seventy 
within a couple of years and a larger number 
of "minute men" enrolled. My name was 
several times proposed, but I refused on each 
occasion, because the way seemed dark when 
I thought of it. 

During this period, however, I busied my- 
self in looking after home interest, which had 
been seriously neglected. My youngest 
daughter, Ethel, was afflicted with a serious 
deformity, known only to her mother and 
myself. We had often prayed regarding it, 
but no change came, and we feared to allow 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 249 



her to grow up to womanhood and reproach 
us for not remedying what was in our power 
to correct when she was a child. Hence we 
resolved that I should take her to Chicago or 
elsewhere for an operation. I had not the 
money, however, for such a trip and felt 
despondent. Just then, or shortly after, I 
received unexpectedly a letter from a gentle- 
man far distant, containing a draft for seven- 
ty-five dollars to be used for my family's 
benefit, and forbidding any mention of it. I 
had told him about my trouble some time 
before. He claimed, however, to have been 
impressed to send it. Of course I was 
delighted and thankful. My wife agreed with 
me that it looked like a providential interpo- 
sition to meet the emergency before us. It 
was, therefore, decided that I should take the 
child to an institute. One evening I again 
anointed her while she was asleep, and 
together with my wife prayed for the removal 
of the trouble, so that we might not be under 
necessity of submitting to an operation at the 
hands of men. 

Imagine, if you can, my ecstasy, when, on 
the following day, my wife told me the trouble 
had been removed. Upon examination I 
found her statement to be correct, and 
together we rejoiced in being thus remembered 



250 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



of God. I immediately wrote to the gentle- 
man who had sent me the money, told him I 
was of the opinion that he had sent it because 
of the need I had spoken of in a former letter, 
and, as God had kindly healed my child, the 
necessity was removed, and I therefore 
returned the draft, not being willing to take 
other advantage of a generosity so admirable. 

I needed money, for we were trying to 
build, but could not use that with a clear con- 
science. In less than a fortnight, however,, 
we received another letter from my friend 
expressing his gladness over our own good 
fortune, but declining to receive the money 
back, and, instead of so doing, he increased 
the draft to one hundred dollars and asked 
me to do him the favor of using it in improv- 
ing or building my house, which we did. 

Later on in the season, our little one took 
sick and, though able to move around and 
play occasionally, I seemed to have a 
premonition of her approaching death when 
looking upon her, and communicated the fact 
to my wife. For several weeks she gradually 
failed, but kept upon her feet, so that but few 
noticed the decline until her weakening limbs 
refused to support her, and she was compelled 
to submit to the inevitable and go to bed. 
We committed her to God in prayer and the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 251 



ordinances of his house, calling elders in for 
that purpose and then obtained the service of 
a competent physician, who candidly informed 
us that it would be better to avoid distressing 
her with medicines; for, though she might 
linger for a long time, there was no earthly 
remedy for her disease. 

Within a fortnight thereafter, her sweet 
spirit took its departure and we mourned the 
loss of one of the most intellectual and 
attractive children we had ever looked upon, 
though she was hardly ever known to smile 
during the two and one half years of her stay 
with us. 

We buried her on Sunday, the 6th day of 
November, 1 88 1. It was the first time death 
had entered our happy home, and his visit 
cast a gloom over our feelings that we had 
been strangers to before. On the following 
Sunday _ morning, however, another little 
daughter came to our home to try to fill the 
place made vacant by death, and its advent 
was hailed as though it had been sent directly 
from heaven to console us in our hour of 
sadness. We called her Hattie. She is now 
in her eleventh year. 

Others have since been added to the house- 
hold, but as I sit at present writing, nearly 
two thousand miles from home, and not hav- 



252 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



ing seen her for about a year, I feel again the 
joy of that hour when first her black eyes 
opened before me, and seemed to say, "I 
come to make you happy. God sent me." 

She proved to be a mischievous bird; but 
whether I found her, afterwards as the years 
sped along, in the tree top or on the barn 
door, or turning somersaults on the lawn, or 
with arms akimbo, swinging her hat and try- 
ing to outrun the fleetest of her companions; 
whatever the predicament into which her 
roguish nature led her, there always came a 
thought, when I discovered her therein, that 
softened my indignation and tempered my 
correction. Sometimes her mother has 
approached me and asked if I did not think 
"just a leetle bit" more of that "Tomboy" than 
I ought. Perhaps she is right, but I can 
never forget the special joy with which her 
advent thrilled my heart, and I have always 
felt like letting her "make me happy," as that 
was what her twinkling baby eyes once 
declared her mission to be. 

While free from General Conference 
appointment, the time was spent in serving as 
branch and district president, by selection of 
the local bodies, and my work extended to 
several points quite distant from home. 
Meanwhile the branch at Independence kept 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 253 



growing by additions from abroad and bap- 
tisms occasionally, until the body felt suffi- 
ciently strong to care for a General Conference, 
and asked for the privilege of doing so. 
Accordingly the sessions for April, 1882, were 
appointed and held there. 

It ought to be here stated that, at that con- 
ference, I was appointed a mission to Texas, 
Arkansas, the Indian Territory, and other 
points in the mission then presided over by 
Elder Heman C. Smith, but, with the excep- 
tion of about six weeks, spent in the Indian 
Territory, the appointment was not honored. 
Some events transpired shortly after confer- 
ence which made it about impossible for me 
to go, and under the counsel of the First 
Presidency, I remained most of the time near 
home. 

During this time, my brother, John, who 
had been living for some years on Manitoulin 
Island, Lake Huron, came to Independence 
and arranged to send for his family which he 
had left behind, while prospecting in the 
West. He and his wife had heard me preach 
one sermon in Toronto about four years 
before, and it had stayed with them and pro- 
duced an appetite for more, which he now 
had an opportunity to satiate. 

While he remained, our fall conference 



254 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



convened at Lamoni, which I attended and at 
which I was reappointed to the Utah mission. 

Returning home preparations were made to 
go as soon as possible and an evening or two 
before the time set for my departure, my 
brother came to me and requested baptism. 
This was a privilege to be appreciated, and 
with a gladness uncommon I performed the 
rite. A short time after my departure for 
Utah, his family arrived and located in Inde- 
pendence, and in a few weeks his wife was 
baptized and made happy with him in the 
gospel. Her brother was the Methodist min- 
ister referred to in an earlier part of this 
autobiography, with whom I was associated 
in revival meetings in the little cottage chapel, 
where the dialogue occurred between myself 
and my old chum, James Robinson. 

Arriving in Utah, I was received and wel- 
comed in the house of Bro. and Sr. Robert 
Warnock, where for several months the 
bounty and hospitality of their home was 
shared by me. A change had come over the 
scene in Salt Lake, however, since the time of 
my former visit. The new chapel had been 
built, and we were no longer dependent in this 
respect, but the interest in hearing seemed to 
have died out or nearly so. The attendance 
at public preaching averaged from twenty-five 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



255 



to fifty and no effort we could make seemed 
to improve the situation. 

We therefore found it necessary to devote 
more time away from the city in places where 
people were more willing to hear. Bro. Blair 
still presided over and directed the mission, 
but the ministerial force was so limited (as, 
indeed, it always has been in Utah) that no 
systematic effort could be made. The needs 
of the mission seemed to demand a prolonged 
effort, and I was urged to move my family 
there for a couple or more years. Help was 
promised me for that purpose, and I finally 
consented. My wife reluctantly yielded to 
persuasion and came along, when we moved 
into a small tenement and tried to keep house. 

This proved to be an unwise move, for 
about seven months later, my brothers wife 
died in Independence, leaving him with five 
small children, and very ill-prepared to attend 
to them. After duly considering the situa- 
tion, my wife returned there with our three 
children, to help care for the motherless ones. 
Upon returning, however, she found them in 
kind care of my sister, Mrs. Hatty, where 
they remained. I then was invited to make 
my home again at Bro. Warnock's, and did 
so, and never was minister treated more 
kindly than was the writer during his stay. 



256 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



During this second mission to Utah which 
lasted about twelve or thirteen months, I 
traveled a portion of the time with Brn. H. 
N. Hansen and Thomas Burt. Salt Lake 
City, Union Fort, Sandy, Lehi, American 
Fork, Pleasant Grove, Provo, Springville, 
Spanish Fork, Payson, Salem, Nephi, San 
Pete Valley, and Beaver to the south, and 
several points northward, between Salt Lake 
City and Ogden, were visited and labored in, 
besides Malad and Oxford in Idaho. 

Nothing of unusual importance occurred, 
though I baptized thirty persons. Prejudice 
ran high. The Edmunds Bill legislation 
made us enemies, because of the presence of 
Brn. Z. H. Gurley and E. L. Kelley at Wash- 
ington during its deliberation. The Deseret 
News volunteered the prediction at first that 
the presence and labor of these brethren in 
the halls of national legislation would amount 
to no more than the barking of two diminu- 
tive canines; but no sooner had the bill 
become a law than all Utah reverberated 
with the echoes of the News howlings. The 
Josephites had done it all, and we were 
politely informed in a couple of places that if 
the Bishop would but advise it, the parties 
addressing us were ready to shoot us like 
dogs. We took it for granted that the Bishop 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 257 



did not so advise, for we are still unslaugh- 
tered. 

We thought then and still think of the 
Utah people as an honest but badly deceived 
community. Their leaders have fed them on 
false doctrines and bolstered them with false 
hopes. The confidence they had in the pure 
gospel which, when received in other lands,, 
brought them the Spirit of assurance and 
peace, was taken advantage of by the leaders, 
who crowded themselves between the people 
and the objects of their faith, until finally the 
priest was made to appear larger than the 
priesthood, and priesthood gave place to 
priestcraft. God, Christ, the gospel, and 
everything else were made to take on just 
such form and complexion as criminals in 
authority desired, in order to reach certain 
ends. It was one of the most cruel impo- 
sitions ever practiced upon a confiding and 
honest people. To-day, after about forty 
years of wandering (polygamy was first pub- 
licly proclaimed in 1852) the masses of 
deluded ones, who have been pointed to first 
one false bait and then another, all for the 
express purpose of preventing them from 
going to God and being undeceived, are noti- 
fied (by the abandonment of polygamy) that 
thev must go back and begin again just where 

17 



258 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



the first falsehood was told them by the 
manufacturers of the fraudulent theory. They 
are mortified by the discovery that polyg- 
amy's god cannot keep faith with them. His 
luring was to dishonor and defeat, while their 
leaders were the first to flee and leave the 
dupes exposed when the inevitable calamity 
came. 

It was hard for a Josephite to convince the 
people of it then, but they can now hear it in 
the murmurings of every breeze. One point 
we tried to impress upon the people was that, 
in order for Jehovah to authorize or indorse 
their theory, he must turn his back upon the 
record he had made for himself for thousands 
of years. On one occasion I found it neces- 
sary to burn this thought in upon some 
parties who were strongly advocating the 
divinity of their nastiness, and it was done in 
this wise: After securing their frank admis- 
sions that up to 1843, whenever God had 
clearly spoken on the subject of polygamy, he 
had condemned it, I quoted the words of 
Jacob from the Book of Mormon, where he 
advises the polygamists to arise and "shake 
themselves from the slumber of death and 
loose themselves from the pains of hell, lest 
they become angels to the devil and be cast 
into that lake of fire and brimstone which is 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 259 



the second death." With this evidence, 
placed alongside of that from the Book of 
Covenants and the examples in the days of 
Adam, Noah, and Nephi, I maintained that 
God was always on the monogamous side of 
the controversy, and Satan on the polyga- 
mous ; that Satan was interested for nearly 
six thousand years in making angels to him- 
self and peopling his lake of fire and brim- 
stone, while God was equally in earnest in 
warning people against being ensnared 
thereby — until 1843. This was not denied. 

I then remarked that while some men had 
been known to go to the extreme of believing 
that even Satan himself would at last be con- 
verted and receive some kind of reward, it 
had been reserved for Utah Mormonism to 
project the astounding theory that after six 
thousand years of unwavering opposition God 
Almighty should face about and, without even 
suggesting a compromise, should become a 
convert to the Devil, and announce that 
Satan's angel-making, hell-filling philosophy 
was the only means of securing highest favors 
at his divine hands. 

To this I added that if the Brighamite idea 
was correct, then Satan was the paramount 
power and instead of our trying to be friends 
with a God who could at last be converted 



260 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



from his six thousand year record, we ought 
to bow the knee at once to Beelzebub, who 
was certain of final conquest. To avoid this 
consistent conclusion I must necessarily reject 
the premises which Brighamism furnished. 

Brighamism, to-day, with its cargo of unful- 
filled predictions, its freightage of blasted 
hopes, interminable record of broken confi- 
dence and the ruined faith of multiplied 
thousands, who are now feeling among the 
mazes of spiritualism and other forms of 
atheism, like blind men seeking the wall ; not- 
withstanding its load of responsibility, too 
heavy for human hefting or measurement, is 
nearing the time of its most paralyzing 
discovery. 

It now sees through the mist, but the fog 
is dissipating and when a clearer vision of 
God dawns upon it ere long, it will behold 
him as an antagonist, the hater of its prac- 
tices, root and branch. The Utah ministers 
say that the Jews will be astonished some day 
over the discovery that the wounds in their 
Messiah's body were received in the house of 
his friends ; but I believe a greater surprise 
awaits these very ministers. They have yet 
to learn that Christ's body (church) received 
its most cruel piercing at their own hands. 
What must, their consternation be, if they 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 261 



have conscience left ! Then, perhaps, the 
long-despised "Josephite" will be respected 
and honored by the remnant which will be 
saved from the ruins of apostate Zion. 

The writer has never felt so great an inter- 
est in any field as the one in Utah, and if 
returns do not yet come from there, such as 
shall show warrant for the labor, sacrifice, and 
endurance exhibited by the Reorganization, 
he will be most grievously disappointed. If 
it was his will, I would that our heavenly 
Father might send one final appeal through 
his chosen prophet to the Utah people and 
open the way that every ear might hear it ; 
for I cherish dearly the thought that there are 
still thousands there who have not yet 
become permanently deaf to the Spirit's 
entreaty. 

One event is worth noting here: A young 
sister, Florence Johnson, daughter of Sr. Rob- 
inson of Salt Lake City, was suffering from 
St. Anthony's dance, and could not feed her- 
self in presence of others, because of inability 
to control the muscles and joints of her arms 
and hands. I was called upon to administer 
to her and did so. She received the blessing 
asked, and to this day has never been troubled 
again with even the faintest visitation of that 
distressing affliction. At the present time she 



262 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



resides in Colorado with her husband, to 
whom she has since been married, and doubt- 
less retains in happy memory, the above 
occurence by which her kind heavenly Father 
proved his love for a needy and supplicant 
child. 

While on this second mission to the valleys, 
my health failed me for a time. The water in 
many places was heavily charged with lime 
and alkali, and I am of the opinion that my 
suffering was largely attributable to a too liberal 
use of it for drinking purposes. Of this I am 
not certain, however. I have become fully 
convinced that my habits of preaching have 
been injurious and would prove hurtful in any 
country. 

To remain for an hour or more under such 
heavy nerve tension as has characterized my 
efforts, night after night, and suffer the loss of 
sleep that is thus occasioned, and made worse 
by changes from house to house and from 
bed to bed, will, in a few years, wear out any 
constitution as weak as mine. I have suffered 
almost everywhere from it, and still I continue 
the folly, to some degree, finding it hard to 
preach, without giving liberty and latitude to 
brain and nerve as occasion may excite. I 
am wise enough in understanding the wrong; 
but foolish enough to fail in applying the 



f 

ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 263 

remedy; hence I must suffer while I remain, 
and probably shorten my stay. 

By the use of such remedies as were sug- 
gested to me by my tender guardians, Bro. 
and Sr. Hudson of Salt Lake City, Sr. Ster- 
rett of Pleasant Grove, Sr. Gammon of Provo, 
and others, I was in a short time relieved of 
acute pain and enabled to continue opera- 
tions till the fall of 1883, when I returned 
home to Independence. There I found my 
family well and remained for some time. 

While at home I found it necessary to dis- 
pose of the place I had secured, because of 
the mortgage upon it, and with the amount 
left to myself I made first payment upon 
another place. This I also sold in a couple 
of months, and so continued, each time mak- 
ing a little, till I finally secured a home close 
to town, though still under heavy mortgage. 
These operations continued till August, 1884, 
at which time I left home for Canada and 
Michigan on a mission assigned me by the 
conference of April, preceding. 

While I made considerable money, sufficient 
to have cleared my house from debt, had the 
means been so applied, my little store was 
drained by drafts from other sources, which, 
though legitimate, left it impossible for me to 
reach the goal I had aimed at so devoutly ; 



264 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



viz., a home free of debt. However, I could 
no longer delay, so, leaving things as they 
were, I started for my native country. 

I must not fail to mention here that just 
about a month before starting, another little 
cherub came to our house and claimed per- 
mission to stay. She was a little blue-eyed 
tot, and her coming added to the attraction 
of home and made the good-byes linger more 
tremblingly on the lip, as I turned to go. We 
had given her the name of Melissa Permelia, 
and she really looked as if that was about all 
the cognomen she could bear up under, but 
with passing years she has gathered strength 
and is now as rugged as the rest, and her 
presence has helped to make the sorrow of 
parting greater several times since that day. 

I landed in Toronto, my old home city, on 
the evening of August 17, just in time to wit- 
ness the ceremony that united my youngest 
sister, Mattie, in marriage to Mr. Thomas 
Smellie, a contractor of that city and an excel- 
lent man. Of course, it was a surprise all 
round. I found present some of the wealthy 
relatives of the family, who, as I walked 
before them, expressed astonishment at the 
change that had come over "little Joe." 
They had scarcely noticed his development 
while their prophecies of ill regarding him 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



265 



had been melting, and still less were they pre- 
pared for the amazing change that eight 
years of gospel life and light had wrought in 
him ; but how mother's eyes sparkled as she 
witnessed the attitude her boy was enabled to 
maintain before them when the conversation 
turned upon the intervening years and the 
influences at work which had silently wrought 
the change so apparent. Well, we tried to 
put the work on . record and assign it the 
credit. Whether the effort will result in a 
showing for good or not, I know not, but shall 
so hope. 

Having but a couple of days at my dis- 
posal, I hurried forward so as to assume my 
share of the burdens of the mission. Bro. 
John H. Lake was in charge and under his 
direction I labored first, attending the dis- 
trict conference at Alliston and following with 
a series of meetings in the chapel there. The 
town was all agog over the approaching elec- 
tion which, by the acceptance or rejection of 
the "Scott Act," was to go "wet" or "dry." 
This gave me an opportunity to get our work 
on record. By invitation, I spoke to a large 
audience one evening in the public hall, occu- 
pying the platform with Rev. G. Webber, a 
Methodist minister, with whom I had been 
acquainted formerly in Toronto. From 



266 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



thence I moved to Holstein, after having the 
satisfaction of seeing the town go "dry." 

Here I met with Bro. Willard J. Smith and 
labored a short time in his company, continu- 
ing my work in that neighborhood also after 
his departure. From there I went to St. 
Mary's where, as formerly stated, I occupied 
the church just purchased by Bro. Robert 
Brown. I continued services there, till find- 
ing myself myself failing, I sent for Bro. 
Arthur Leverton, who came promptly to my 
help and did excellent service. 

Three persons had already been baptized 
whom we confirmed. Together we went 
thence by sleigh to Carlingford and after- 
wards through a blinding storm to the home 
of Bro. George Brown, some twenty or more 
miles further. At each place we held meeting 
and then returned to St. Mary's, where we 
continued laboring for a short time together. 
Bro. Leverton is an able advocate and 
defender of the faith, and gifted withal in the 
open manifestations of the Spirit, and is just 
such a companion and helper as makes mis- 
sionary life enjoyable even under disadvan- 
tages. His genial spirit and happy methods 
are factors of value. He ought to be out 
continually. The work is safe in his hands 
while he maintains the integrity of grip on 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 267 



riofht that has characterized him hitherto. 
My labors thereafter took in Usborne, Lon- 
don, Corinth, and Toronto. 

From thence I moved into Michigan and 
preached in Lansing, Juniata, and Brown City. 
Here I again met my old and tried friend and 
brother, Robert Davis. I found him under a 
cloud, however, and suffering intensely. Our 
old and very intimate acquaintance with each 
other caused me to make his trouble my inter- 
est, and upon inquiry I learned from his lips 
everything connected with his spiritual de- 
cline. 

I felt uncommonly sad, for from him had I 
learned the first practical lessons in this work. 
Together we had tramped the dusty roads 
from town to town, sometimes as much as 
thirty-two miles in a day, with our satchels 
strung on sticks over our shoulders; together 
we had turned into the timber scores of times 
and poured forth the anxious longings of our 
hearts into the ears of the God of Sabaoth, 
and together we had endured the scorn and 
derision, publicly and privately, of those who 
delighted to make the gospel the target for 
their abuse. A hundred times had the old 
man advised and persuaded and reasoned 
with me, as together we trudged along the 
corduroy roads and swamp patches of Michi- 



268 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



gan. He had told me that some day I would 
hold one of the first positions in the church, 
and he was jealous of the record I should 
make while on the way up. He was as a 
father pointing out the slippery places and 
fitting my feet to stand. Need I repeat, 
reader, that I was sad to find him in trouble? 
His love for the work had not waned, nor his 
anxiety to push it ahead, nor yet his willing- 
ness to sacrifice ; but he had made a serious 
mistake and was suffering the consequence. 
I prayed with him, and told him he would be 
restored in time and have time and opportu- 
nity to redeem his reputation, and that he 
could count on all the help I could give. He 
feared, but thank God, he has since had 
opportunity and embraced it and is yet as 
active as his enfeebled body will allow him to 
be. He is waiting for the reaper and ready 
for the garnering. God keep him till the 
final hour! 

While visiting Bro. Davis I also met with 
Brn. John, Richard, Samuel, and Thomas 
Hartnell whom I had fellowshipped with in 
Canada years before. They were in the lum- 
bering and shingle mill business, and seemed 
to be prospering. It was good to meet with 
them again. 

While on this trip, I made the run to Sagi- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



269 



naw City and called upon a couple of old 
acquaintances, Mr. and Mrs. Ahrens. The 
former was foreman of the cigar shop where 
for a year and a half I had stemmed and 
looked, and rolled and smoked tobacco, six- 
teen years before, and I found him the pro- 
prietor of a successful business, and very glad 
to see and entertain me for sake of "auld lang 
syne." 

After this I returned home to Independ- 
ence. It was now March, 1885, and the Gen- 
eral Conference was to be held there in the 
following month ; hence some preparation 
was necessary. 



270 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



. CHAPTER XV. 
FROM EAST TO WEST. 

I sit and gaze in that blue yonder, 

Until my soul 
Is filled with awe; and yet I wonder — 

When Time unrolls 
Its mystic page, and bids me trace, 

Through all the years, 
The lines I've written — if His grace 

Will calm my fears. 

Hewett. 

My mission to Canada and Michigan was 
not marked by many extraordinary events, 
but I had seen the effect of the sowing done 
years before and the splendid changes 
wrought here and there along the line under 
the faithful labors of the host of young men 
whom God had raised up since the time of 
my leaving there, five years before. 

I had also seen some things that confirmed 
the apprehensions felt by me at the time I was 
led to covenant with God in 1878, of which I 
have already written quite lengthily. Those 
who had entered the church from pure love 
of truth had been preserved, while those who 
had been lured into it by a display of ''signs" 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 271 



had, some of them, gone to decay and were 
worse than before they entered. They were 
footballing- the very things that they once 
held out to me as being the undeniable evi- 
dences of the work's divinity. 

Some who had shot up like a rocket at first 
and mourned over the snail gait and barren- 
ness of spirit of others, had fizzled and 
dropped out and disappeared, while the slow 
traveling ones had gotten up sufficiently high 
to admit of their light being seen over a 
wider area, and the record behind them made 
me happy in following them up. I found 
some whose gospel experience of ten years 
had not cost them half that many dollars for 
tithes and freewill offerings, though they had 
abundance, and I found them stereotypes as 
to the letter of their former selves, but won- 
dering how it was that others saw so "terrible 
much good in tendin' meetins and bearin' tes- 
timonies." It was getting stale to them. 

I found a few others who had private 
grievances to settle or ideas to ventilate, and, 
while ignoring the law ordained for such cases 
nevertheless believed the church should stop 
all its machinery, call in its forces, and hold 
its breath till these matters were adjusted, 
and that, too, in precise accord with the 
notion of the individual who had the honor 



272 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



or misfortune to feel pouty. They were 
ready to explain to us the reason why the 
church was not moving ahead. It was all 
because their little matter was not settled, 
and the church never would prosper till they 
were acknowledged and the magnitude of 
their individual wisdom and importance was 
appreciated. Poor souls ! Their light had 
well-nigh gone out and they did not know it. 
The fact was that, while they were nursing 
their darling grievances, the church was moving 
ahead of them. They were not keeping up, 
and as they were being outstripped they were 
losing the fire, and life, and bliss of associa- 
tion, and, like nearly all other poor demented 
mortals, they considered that they were the 
only sane persons on earth. The church was 
all out of joint and ready for the wrath of 
heaven. There they sat like hounds at night, 
barking at the moon, while the moon mean- 
while kept moving along and flinging her 
pale splendor over the earth, totally heedless 
or ignorant of the pastime she was furnishing 
the boisterous quadrupeds. Still the evidences 
of growth and prosperity were as before 
stated abundant. While a few had failed, 
others had profited by their experiences and 
it was clear that the work was advancing at 
an encouraging pace. I left the mission, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 273 



hoping that the feeble efforts I had made 
would prove a contribution in the right 
direction. 

The short time remaining between my 
home-coming and the convening of General 
Conference was occupied in works of prepara- 
tion, so that I was again ready when missions 
were assigned and it fell to my lot to go to 
Utah once more. Bro. Joseph Smith had 
made arrangements to go, also, and Bro. 
Alexander H. Smith was appointed to Cali- 
fornia. Inside of two months we were on the 
way to our fields. Bro. A. H. Smith was 
then residing at Independence. Together we 
started and met Bro. Joseph at Council Bluffs, 
from whence we moved westward, a jolly trio, 
notwithstanding we were feeling mellow over 
leaving home and the dear ones behind. 

The journey was an unusually pleasant one 
to me. It could not well be otherwise consid- 
ering the company I was in. We were met 
at the depot in Salt Lake City by Bro. R. J. 
Anthony, who escorted us to the prayer 
meeting - which was in session. There we 
separated, each going on invitation to differ- 
ent places for the night and to make homes 
during our stay. My lot fell, fortunately, 
with my old guardians, Bro. and Sr. Joseph 

O. Clark, and with them I found rest, corn- 
is 



274 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



fort, and more, as the following pages will show. 

Bro. Alexander remained several days in 
the city, preaching and visiting, before leav- 
ing for California. The Walker Opera 
House was secured soon, and Bro. Joseph 
occupied it several times, addressing large 
audiences, also interchangeably with the 
writer in the little chapel. 

It was then arranged that together we 
should make a tour of such parts of the mis- 
sion as might be opened before us and as 
we might be directed to enter. Our jour- 
neying, preaching, and visiting included all 
the places reached by me on my former mis- 
sion to this field and Soda Springs, Idaho, in 
addition, besides Deer Lodge, Reese Creek, 
Willow Creek, Bozeman, Butte, Anaconda, 
and other points in Montana. 

Our longest stay at one place was made at 
the home of Bro. and Sr. Thomas Reese of 
Reese Creek, where we helped pitch oats and 
wheat with the harvesters for sake of exercise, 
and where we found time to take a day's out- 
ing to fish in a branch of the Madison River 
above the point where it joins its fellow 
branch and moves on to catch the flood of 
the Jefferson and Garrison and form the 
"mighty Missouri" which rushes madly on to 
the sea. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



275 



During this portion of our trip, my health 
improved and my weight increased about 
fifteen pounds. I was availing myself of the 
excellent model I was traveling with and was 
rounding out in the most approved style. 
The kindness of Bro. and Sr. Reese will never 
be forgotten though it may never be repaid 
by the writer in this life. At every point we 
were well received by the brethren and sisters 
and our needs anticipated and amply sup- 
plied. 

It would be impossible to detail the pleas- 
urable scenes and resorts we were permitted 
to visit or witness. The hot springs, gold 
and silver mines, mountains of pictured rocks, 
boiling springs, extinct craters, sulphur lake 
and beds, formation springs, and Swan Lake 
are a part. We climbed mountains, gathered 
arrowheads and obsidian chips of varying 
shades, hunted for moss agates and plucked and 
pressed the juniper berries from the trees that 
grew on the summit of mountains which made 
us dizzy to climb. I also peeled some small 
varieties of the cactus plant from the rough 
rocks that crowned the tips of those "everlast- 
ing hills," and sent them home by express, 
but I afterwards learned that they died. The 
transfer from a cold barren rock in Montana, 
eight thousand or more feet above the sea 



276 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



level, to the moist, rich, warm soil of Missouri, 
was a death blow to my prickly treasures. 

On one occasion I lay face downward, upon 
a flat rock that crowned the very summit of 
Ensign Peak, near Salt Lake City, and went 
into rhapsodies over writing a letter home. I 
had puffed and perspired and braced myself 
and held my hand over my thumping heart 
more than a score of times while ascending to 
that eminence. I looked down upon the little 
speck of a valley below, which, from that 
exceeding height, had the appearance of a 
market garden, sniffed the cool air, watched 
the floating clouds and received happy 
responses to my appeal for inspiration from 
every source, all of which was crowded into 
that letter. It was so novel, so inspiring, so 
majestic! After carefully sealing the letter 
and carrying it down from the cloud-bathed 
region where its inspiration found birth, I 
adorned the envelope with chromos sufficient 
to satisfy Uncle Samuel's demand for tribute 
and committed it to the tender care of his 
mail transmitters. It was addressed to my 
gentler half in Missouri, but it never reached 
her. Whether or not inspiration obtained at 
such cost and condensed to such narrow quar- 
ters and under such inflexible seal as was that 
could not endure through a three-days' transit 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 277 



or not, I will not attempt to discuss. It may 
have exploded and returned to original condi- 
tions, carrying its appendages with it to rest 
among the juniper brush. 

I have thought of it and my precious cactus 
plants more than once since and wondered if 
they were the only things I had toiled and 
sweated to procure, and after getting, had 
received only my trouble for my reward. I 
wish they were; but they were not. I could 
remember having stayed up nights and read, 
and studied, and written, and revised, to get a 
sermon in just such shape as would make it a 
"powerful awakener," among my brethren of 
the church I was once in. I could remember 
learning it all off by heart and entering the 
pulpit for its delivery, only to find it fall flat 
as a circumstance and be pronounced "insipid" 
and "tame," by the very ones I had calculated 
to entertain. I could remember having stayed 
about home for a year or more, determined to 
make a herculean effort for absolute freedom 
from home debt, and had gathered all the 
elements around me for final adjustment when, 
just as I was about to wipe out the last rem- 
nant of the annoying incumbrance, an unex- 
pected call or appeal would be made upon me 
and I would suddenly be emptied of all I had 
accumulated and left to either repeat the folly 



278 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



or go out as I was and trust in God for neces- 
sary relief. 

I had seen men wait to pay their tithing till 
they had straightened out this, and regulated 
that, and paid everybody else, and gotten 
business and property into just such a shape 
as to make the matter easy for them. They 
had toiled and planned to that end, and, just 
as they were on the verge of realization, with 
hand stretched out to grasp the coveted prize, 
a business depression and money panic swept 
the country, and they were ingulfed and left 
almost without bread. That is not all, but it 
is sufficient from my cactus and letter text. 

While in Utah Bro. Joseph and myself 
were witnesses of that most idiotic move on 
the part of the Utah Church authorities, in 
half-masting the national flag on July 4. 
Over the City Hall and Co-operative Store 
and other buildings of note the flag floated as 
if in distress over our national independence 
and glory. To the Utah Church it was a 
time of sadness, for their institution was crum- 
bling under the fast falling blows of the repub- 
lic, which God had brought into existence and 
preserved for the protection of human liberty 
and religious freedom. Their leaders were in 
hiding because of crime. It was a time of dis- 
appointment and chagrin, but they had 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



279 



invited it all by just such foolhardy proceed- 
ings in the past, and this unfortunate circum- 
stance was but an addition to the long- list 
that had placed them in an attitude of defi- 
ance to the very government God raised up 
for the protection of his work on earth. The 
city was in an uproar. The governor and 
others appeared upon the scene, and old sol- 
diers, some of whom had fought as rebels 
against the Union, moved towards the mast 
to raise the emblem of freedom higher. This 
was prevented, and it was feared for a time 
that blood would flow. The governor ordered 
the militia in readiness, and one overt act in- 
volving blood would have precipitated a colli- 
sion, the end of which could not be easily 
surmised. It was expected that the city would 
be placed under martial law; but the neces- 
sity for this was averted by the governor 
ordering the flag either up or down entirely. 
Then was made apparent the spirit of the 
movement. The flag- was lowered and taken 
away. We stood close by during the agita- 
tion at the City Hall, and wondered whether 
that scene did not truly illustrate the apostasy 
of Israel. We thought of how that flag would 
be waving in Lamoni and Independence and 
Kirtland where the church existed doctrinally 
just as it did when God placed it under the 



280 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



protection of that emblem of liberty and 
human rights. By some means the news 
reached the hidden authorities, and at their 
instigation an attempt was made to correct 
the unfortunate mistake, by bringing out the 
flag and sending it to the masthead before the 
sun went down. An indignation meeting was 
held in the Methodist church at night where 
a large crowd assembled and was addressed 
by Governor E. H. Murray and several 
others, including President Joseph Smith. 

The visit of Bro. Joseph to Utah at that 
time was opportune. Everywhere people 
turned out to hear the son of the Prophet, 
and on every occasion they learned from his 
lips that which proved his loyalty to primitive 
Mormonism. At Provo, we were visited by 
persons who knew his father, had wrestled 
with him, and one man had had his leg broken 
while thus exercising in Nauvoo. He "knew" 
all about it, and came to instruct the "son of 
his father" about those important things, of 
which he supposed Joseph to be so ignorant. 
I don't know by what sort of a flank move 
"Old Joseph" so easily broke the wrestler's 
leg, but it was more than amusing to witness 
the encounter between "Young Joseph" and 
him, and to see with what ease and grace 
Bro. Joseph tilted his theory and broke his — 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 281 



confidence. It would be interesting to know 
whether the texture of his leg, forty-five years 
before, was no stouter than that of his theory 
when he came to "wrestle" with "Young 
Joseph." The martyr's credit as a wrestler 
might be affected by a knowledge of the facts. 

While in Salt Lake City we were visited 
several times by Apostle John Henry Smith, 
the only one who either cared or dared to 
recognize the official standing and presence 
of our "leader." He was pleasant, sociable, 
and open in his movements, and acted the 
part of a relative, and a man as fully as his 
environments would allow. Bishops Murdock 
of Beaver and Peterson of Ephraim were con- 
siderate, the former remarkably so. An 
interview was also had with Apostle Franklin 
D. Richards, while at Soda Springs, Idaho. 
In all such meetings, our work had as full 
representation as occasion justified. 

In our preaching services we occupied 
alternately, except in rare cases where wisdom 
seemed to direct a variation from this rule. 
After six or seven months spent in traveling 
together we returned to Salt Lake City, from 
whence Bro. Joseph went on a short trip to 
Ogden, accompanied by Bro. Anthony. They 
returned about the latter part of December, 
and then started together for the East, leav- 



282 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



in£ behind them one of the most lonesome 
mortals that ever occupied territory. It had 
been the happiest misson of my life; I had 
learned and profited much, and had been 
favored with opportunities such as but few in 
the church shared, and now I was left entirely 
alone. 

About three months before they left I had 
purchased the Saints Advocate from Pres. W. 
W. Blair and was editing it. Rev. M. T. 
Lamb had issued his first pamphlet against 
the Book of Mormon, and I was busy gather- 
ing notes for a work I intended to publish in 
reply. I traveled constantly, preaching nearly 
every night and twice on Sundays. My 
labors extended back into Idaho, and in 
Malad, Samaria, and Oxford I baptized several, 
thence to Ogden, where my efforts to secure 
a hearing failed, thence to Plain City and 
later to points between Ogden and Salt Lake 
City. I was also arranging for a semiannual 
conference of the mission to be held in March, 
which necessitated the securing of reduced 
rates on the various railroads. My mail cor- 
respondence increased after the brethren left 
me, and to meet all these demands every 
nerve was beine taxed to the utmost, till, with- 
out any particular warning, I suddenly broke 
down, and my work was stopped. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 283 



While sitting in the house of Sr. P. Ster- 
rett, at Pleasant Grove, writing, I felt my 
brain grow tired. I was preparing an article 
for the Advocate. Night came on and a lamp 
was furnished me. I continued writing and 
looking up items, when suddenly I noticed 
the material receding from before me. Look- 
ing up, I found myself unable to retain my 
vision of any person or object. Thinking it 
was, probably, a local derangement of the 
liver or stomach, I moved out into the yard 
to get the air, but had to feel my way back. 

All that the kind heart or brain of Sr. 
Sterrett could suggest was done for me, but 
everything seemed so unreal around me, and 
after exhausting all our skill in trying to tide 
over the spell, I retired to bed, when, for the 
first time in a number of years, my head 
began to ache and ached almost to distrac- 
tion. I prayed for relief but it did not come. 
Alcohol with all the camphor it would absorb 
was applied, and after peeling the skin from 
my entire forehead, the pain relaxed. 

My Sunday appointments were canceled, 
for I was not able to fill them. By Monday I 
felt much better and left for Salt Lake City; 
but on the following day, while trying to 
write a letter, the old symptoms came back, 
and I hastened to my home at Sr. Clark's, 



284 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



where for six weeks I remained an invalid 
under treatment. My brain had lost its elas- 
ticity, and refused almost entirely to operate. 

The conference I had appointed convened, 
and friends from everywhere came to see me, 
but the sight of their faces almost distracted 
me at times. I could not call their names to 
mind, and they were not allowed to speak to 
me. 

My brain and spine were partially para- 
lyzed, and physicians declared that I had 
been studying too hard and too long in one 
direction and must rest from all mental effort. 
One went so far as to say I must quit the 
ministry forever, if I recovered. Beef was 
recommended, but I refused to eat it, under 
my old covenant, preferring to die rather than 
to break it. 

I shall never forget it. To think was tor- 
turing ; but to try to stop thinking was worse. 
A thousand and more miles from home and, 
to all appearances, dying, or, what was worse, 
losing my mental balance, the visions of 
asylums and hearses and caskets that con- 
stantly floated before my mind and the worry 
over wife and children and home debts were 
simply indescribable. Nearly four weeks 
passed without sleep, and the date for going 
home came and I went. I was administered 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 285 

to several times but received no perceptible 
benefit. Then came the words of the revela- 
tion sent me years before: "Other manifesta- 
tions are withheld from him that he may be 
tried and sanctified," and I concluded that 
there was no restoration for me through such 
means. I dared not try to check a thought 
that came. It had to take its course and float 
along. Along the current came the words I 
had heard in 1877 about yet entering the 
Quorum of the Twelve and the promise in 
the other revelation ; but I did not know the 
source of that voice I had heard, and I had 
no power to reason. 

Thus the weary weeks went by, Sr. Clark 
and her daughters, Clara and Vilate (the 
former now Mrs. George Frick and the latter 
Mrs. Harry Hattey of Independence, Mis- 
souri) waited on me and tenderly cared for 
me day and night, anticipating my every look 
or gesture, and when I gradually gathered 
strength to get on my feet, they supported 
me from room to room and made all my sur- 
roundings as comfortable as though I had 
been at my home. 

Sr. Warnock sent me her buggy, in which 
I was placed and propped with pillows, but 
the motion of the buggy hurt my spine and 
confused my brain. Oh! how I longed to be 



286 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 

home, if it were only to die there in the midst 
of my family. 

One evening, a week or two after I had 
gained suffcient strength to rise and move 
about, I knelt and asked God to give me 
sleep, and to let his angels watch me, so that 
I might have sufficient strength to get to the 
train and start for home. I prayed about as 
fervently as ever in my life, then disrobed 
and got into bed. The next thing I remem- 
bered was that it was daybreak and time to 
rise. 

I rose and dressed and then entered the 
dining room where I found Bro. Clark. He 
told me that it had required all his will power 
to restrain him from shouting to me about 
twenty minutes after I retired the night 
before. He further said, in explanation, that, 
though mv room door was closed and he was 
in the next room, he saw me lying upon the 
bed sound asleep. Beside my head stood an 
angel with one hand a little above my head 
and the other in constant motion, as if mov- 
ing back authoritatively some person or 
persons. Looking in the direction indicated 
by the looks and movements of the angel, he 
saw no one; but the personage was evidently 
there to guard me while sleeping, and to ward 
off some power or personage of evil. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 287 



When he related this clear open vision, 
which he saw while wide awake, I remembered 
my prayer and took this as its answer. The 
buggy was sent from Sr. Warnock's and I was 
taken to the depot in it. Sr. Clara Clark 
agreed to accompany me home, as she wished 
to visit her brother in Omaha, so I started 
from Salt Lake City on the morning of April 
4, 1886, and reached home safely on the even- 
ing of the 6th t having been delayed some 
eight hours in Denver. 

Upon my arrival my strength gave out and 
it was some time before I recovered suf- 
ficiently to collect myself and connect objects 
and persons around me. 

Conference had just convened at Lamoni, 
and how I longed to go, but it was impossi- 
ble. Gradually I recovered after being 
administered to by Brn. F. G. Pitt and Ems- 
ley Curtis, and in the course of a couple of 
months, I began to feel safe in stirring 
about and talking on subjects involving 
thought. 

After arriving home and resting a week or 
two I read the first letter I had dared to open 
for two months. It was from Bro. Joseph and 
contained words of cheer and promise of 
health apace. 

During the year, Bro. Ells, of the Twelve, 



288 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 



had died, and at the conference just closed, 
Brn. J. W. Briggs and Z. H. Gurley had with- 
drawn from the church. Thus three vacan- 
cies had been made certain in the quorum. 

While lying upon the bed one morning, 
these things came before my mind, and also a 
prediction made by Bro. Clark some months 
before, and rising from my recumbent posture 
I was led to remark to my wife that Satan 
had hindered me from attending the confer- 
ence at Lamoni, for which we had calculated 
so long, but I should attend the Kirtland con- 
ference next April and while there I should 
be made an apostle. 

Hardly had the words escaped my lips, 
however, before I wished they had not been 
uttered. It was simply an impulse to speak 
and I had spoken. 1 thought to remove the 
idea from my wife's mind; but decided that 
any effort in that direction would but 
strengthen her memory of it. I was sorry, 
but could not well change it. I had not a 
reason to assign for the rash utterance, and 
my mental and physical condition were 
against the presumption it involved. I knew, 
however, it would never be repeated by her, 
and so let it go, hoping she would forget it. 

As soon as able I began to turn things 
about to provide for home and family, and to 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 289 



improve the appearance of the grounds about 
our house. This furnished me plenty of 
employment for a long time and left my 
brain in a restful condition; but calls for 
preaching came in so pressingly that it 
seemed impossible to remain idle, hence the 
year's labor was pretty evenly divided be- 
tween spiritual and temporal concerns. 

By this time the Independence branch had 
about outgrown its chapel accommodation,, 
and a movement was set on foot to provide 
more commodious quarters. A committee 
was appointed, of which I was made chair- 
man, whose business it was to look up a loca- 
tion and report upon the advisability of 
moving towards a purchase and the erection 
of a building. 

The committee found a suitable location 
immediately opposite the Temple Lot, and 
were offered a lot by Bro. Daniel S. Bowen, 
upon condition that a building be commenced 
thereupon within a year. 

This offer was accepted and the deed 
secured. The committee reported its labor 
and recommended the construction of a house 
of considerable size. The report was adopted 
and a committee appointed to carry our sug- 
gestions into effect. Of this new committee I 
was made a member and chairman, and with 

19 



290 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



this matter on hand found enough work to 
engage all my time and a great deal more than 
was wise for me to assume while in such con- 
dition. The main part of the burden of rais- 
ing money for a time fell upon me, and I set 
about laying plans to that end. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 291 



CHAPTER XVI. 

NOTES BY THE WAY. — PROMOTION. 

"What God decrees, child of his love, 
Take patiently, though it may prove 
The storm that wrecks thy treasure here; 
Be comforted! Thou needst not fear 
What pleases God." 

"I like the man who faces what he must 
With step triumphant and a heart of cheer; 
Who fights the daily battle without fear, 
Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust 
That God is God; that somehow, true and just, 
His plans work out for mortals." 

After the manner described in the fore- 
going chapter I busied myself till the year 
had worn away and the time for holding Gen- 
eral Conference had again rolled round. The 
building committee had authorized me to go 
to Kirtland and solicit aid for our new house 
of worship. 

Just before leaving home my wife asked me 
if I remembered the statement I had made 
one year before about going to Kirtland and 
being promoted in the priesthood. I had 
hoped she had forgotten it. But out it came, 
and I tried to excuse the reckless statement 



292 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



by referring to the condition I was in at the 
time of uttering it. She feigned an accept- 
ance of the explanation, and soon I was 
on the way East. Some power seemed to be 
at work to prevent my getting even to that 
conference, for the evening I left home my 
oldest child fell from a high swing and lay 
unconscious for some time, then recovered 
only partially. The impulse was to telegraph 
for me to come back, and so the neighbors 
advised; but my wife's faith prevented this 
break upon my journeying, and secured my 
boy's recovery also. 

To attend a conference within the walls of 
the old Temple was a privilege indeed to me 
and I enjoyed it immensely. The Master 
was there, and his presence was felt to a gra- 
cious degree. In answer to the prayers and 
fasting of the Saints our heavenly Father 
made known his will concerning several mat- 
ters and four of the brethren were called to 
the office of an apostle, James W. Gillen, 
Heman C. Smith, Gomer T. Griffiths, and 
myself. 

After action upon the revelation by the 
quorums in regular order and then by the 
assembled body, we were called upon to 
express our feelings in regard to accepting 
the office. To me it was a serious moment 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 293 



and all I could do was to tell of the evidences 
already referred to in this life-sketch and then 
commit myself to the will of the body. This 
was done and no claim was made by me as 
to the divinity of those testimonies — that 
was left for the conference to decide upon 
after hearing them. By unanimous vote the 
revelation was indorsed and the ordinations 
ordered. Elder Heman C. Smith was not 
present ; but the other three were set apart 
on the following day and began at once to 
participate in the quorum sessions and share 
the responsibilities attendant upon this sacred 
and important office. 

Thus ended for me the peculiar pleasure of 
attending General Conference. Thenceforth 
it was to be work, work, work, but how con- 
soling to know the work was for God. Were 
it not for this one fact I would not have held 
the office more than a year, for our very first 
action in preparing an epistle placed us under 
suspicion with many, and though it was the 
result of much prayer, deliberation, and ear- 
nest effort, yet it was made to take on features 
of intention that were never dreamed of by 
those preparing it. 

This suspicion was limited to a few, I have 
reasons to believe, but whether or not, it mat- 
tered but little — our responsibility was to 



294 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



God who had assigned us the place, and with 
him and the day of final accounts in view, I 
had performed my humble part therein. I 
had been in so-called solemn gatherings in 
other societies, and had associated for eleven 
years with Saints locally and generally — in 
public and private ; but never in my life had 
I mingled with a body of men who seemed so 
absolutely free from a disposition to coerce or 
persuade one another. I thank God that my 
knowledge of* those brethren authorizes the 
statement that never have I met a more inde- 
pendent, sincere, God-fearing, and noble- 
minded company of men. Like myself, they 
may fail and fall, but until I see in them the 
reverse of what they have yet displayed, I 
shall never believe them capable of any quo- 
rum action with sinister design. The reader 
will please pardon this voluntary defense of 
self and associates ; but I have believed my 
brethren entitled to it. 

Before the close of the conference I was 
administered to by Brn. Joseph Smith, W. 
W. Blair, and J. H. Lake, and my health 
improved quite perceptibly thereafter. 

Two years before this my mother and step- 
father had moved from Canada to Detroit, 
where he had engaged in business. Failing 
to accomplish his ends, he had moved thence 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 295 



to Chicago. Worn out in body and broken 
spirited, mother had remained behind. She 
was just beginning to learn what I had known 
for years in regard to her husband. He was 
utterly unreliable as a business man and 
unworthy the confidence of a heart as true as 
hers. 

Leaving Kirtland, I went at once to Detroit, 
where my worst fears regarding her were 
realized. Upon her face were the unmistaka- 
ble marks of care and sadness. Her hair was 
silvering fast, and as I met her at the gate of 
her residence, I scarcely knew her for a 
moment. She had not written me all, but I 
read it in a moment when I looked into her 
face. For some months she had lived there 
with my half-brother, the only living child of 
her second marriage, earning her own bread, 
while her husband revelled amid the gratifica- 
tions offered in a distant city. More I shall 
not add. Let God reveal it in the the end 
and be as merciful as he can to the man whose 
perfidy has crushed as true a heart as ever 
throbbed within the human .breast. 

After some persuasion, mother consented to 
move with me to Independence, Missouri, so 
we packed up her goods and started thither, 
accompanied by my half-brother. They 
remained with us over a year, during which 



296 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



time I baptized them both. Not feeling at 
home in so small a place as Independence, 
after spending her entire life in a large city, 
and being unaccustomed to the ways of west- 
ern people, she decided to return to Toronto, 
where she has remained till the present, and 
where I visited her while on my way to the 
Eastern mission in the fall of 1890, and on my 
return in 1891. 

From that time (1887) till the conference 
of 1890, held at Lamoni, my mission was 
Missouri and Kansas. Local matters, such as 
have already been referred to, prevented much 
travel on my part. I sought, however, to get 
everything of a temporal character into such 
shape as to admit of permanent service abroad 
when once I could leave. 

My health varied much during this time. 
At times it seemed that my hope of final 
recovery was vain. My nervous system 
seemed almost shattered, and it was only with 
considerable effort that I plodded along, 
helped by the prayer and faith of kind Saints. 
I engaged in the publishing business with the 
idea that the arrangements would admit of 
my leaving at any time when the church so 
advised. Some changes took place later that 
made this difficult and I found myself ham- 
pered more than ever. It seemed impossible 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



297 



to get free. I was impressed on one occasion 
that when the time of necessity for departure 
came the way would open and I should see 
the Lord's hand in it. This gave me a degree 
of comfort and made me more patient. 

At the Lamoni conference referred to, 
without any suggestion or request from me, I 
was relieved of the special burden I had been 
bearing in connection with others of the 
branch building committee, by the Bishopric 
being authorized to take hold and direct or 
oversee. 

When asked by the First Presidency as to 
my preference of field for labor I. refused to 
express any. Wherever they appointed I 
would go, for I had finally reached the con- 
clusion that my duty was to move out, and I 
was determined to do it, if I lost everything 
in the effort. Now that the church burden 
was lifted I was ready for any sacrifice of a 
personal kind in order to honor my calling. 
The Eastern mission was named for me, and 
after conference had closed I returned home 
to dispose of everything that hindered me 
and prepare for the ministry service forever, 
wherever it might be appointed. 

It took me some months to accomplish this, 
and even then the loss entailed made it 
impossible for me to go forth free from 



298 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



property incumbrance. However, I resolved 
to go, and let all waste away if it must. I 
would trust God and never again leave the 
ministry on account of those things, unless he 
commanded me to do so. Thus I left home 
September 29, 1890, for Boston, Massa- 
chusetts. 

On the nth of March, 1887, I had been 
invested with additional responsibility and 
honor by the arrival of a brand new boy upon 
whom we fastened the name of Alma Clark 
in addition to the parental surname to be 
carried by him while he remains mortal. This 
was a circumstance of special interest, or at 
least the writer thought so at the time, and 
the little fellow has tried his best to empha- 
size the idea ever since. He seems to feel 
under perpetual obligation to furnish the 
house with abundant music and sensation, 
without consultation as to class or volume. 
Granted the correctness of his conviction in 
this regard and he has been faithful in a 
phenomenal sense, as all who visit there can 
readily attest. More could not reasonably 
be required of him. May he live to as faith- 
fully fill the sphere unto which our hearts' 
love has consecrated him for the future. 

During the three years just referred to, the 
Independence branch continued to grow, under 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



299 



the presidency (for the most part) of Elder 
(now High Priest) Frederick G. Pitt, whom 
the Lord had, a few years before, wisely and 
kindly directed to move and settle there. 
While I believe that many men are qualified 
for offices as presidents, I believe that this 
brother was specially qualified and had been 
disciplined peculiarly, till he developed into 
the very man for the place, and God took 
him out of Illinois and dropped him in Inde- 
pendence at the right time to do the work for 
which he had been thus equipped. 

Those who have not lived there do not 
know it, perhaps, but almost every species of 
biped that has ever been brought into direct 
or other contact with any phase of Latter 
Day Saintism, has had its eye on that city 
and through some kind of representative or 
another has made itself felt, sometimes inside 
and sometimes outside the branch member- 
ship. 

To keep a cool head, maintain a steady 
hand, and carry a tender heart throughout all 
the attending "seances" required considerable 
wisdom and grit in the presiding officer. 

The membership had increased beyond the 
five hundred mark (now seven hundred and 
fifty) and, like all other large branches, it had 
elements within it that needed directing, and 



300 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



those needing it most were generally least 
willing to acknowledge the fact or consent to 
the process. 

The writer has frequently been "called to 
answer" to the charge of some irate individual 
for preaching things which trespassed upon 
the sacred territory of his practices or meth- 
ods. Oh, how they would kick! We have 
sympathized with their devoted feet on a 
number of occasions; but reward and recom- 
pense came in witnessing the improvement 
among even these as time passed along. 

The slovenly ones learned that it was pos- 
sible to be clean without being "tony," and 
the haughty learned that it was possible to be 
humble without being low-minded. One 
learned that it was possible to be of soft 
speech without being insipid and another 
learned that it was possible to be frank and 
candid without being impudent and boister- 
ous. A few learned that it was quite possible 
to find a true friend in one who differed most 
widely from them in judgment, and others 
found that a man's motive might be as good 
as gold while some of his acts were questiona- 
ble. Some found that there were Saints not 
up or abreast with themselves in the intellec- 
tual or moral scale, who, nevertheless, had 
traveled farther than they themselves had 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 301 



since starting out, and were to that degree 
better illustrations of gospel potency and 
virtue than were they. Some learned that 
just as one man possessed the faculty by 
which he could make a dime go farther than 
another could a quarter, so in spiritual expe- 
rience, God gave less to one than another in 
the way of open manifestation, because he 
already possessed a faculty to enlarge upon 
and utilize, and that faculty required develop- 
ment, while others, destitute of the quality 
referred to were oftener visited, and ''more 
abundant honor was bestowed upon that part 
which lacked." 

Many learned that an abundant display of 
open manifestations in certain persons was 
not so much a certificate of God's approval 
of their course as an evidence of their ina- 
bility to endure without them. It was a dona- 
tion to meet a necessity rather than a reward 
of merit. Sometimes we give a man a dollar 
because he has earned and deserved it. At 
other times we have given a dollar to a beg- 
gar because he badly needed it, regardless of 
his actual past deservings. So, I believe, 
God frequently does with Saints. 

Some people grew wealthy outside the 
church while others, with the same income 



302 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



and no larger family remained poor. The 
poor ones became jealous and talked about 
their "stylish neighbors," who owned a horse 
and thumped a piano. Our good Saints 
thought this was wrong in the "naughty Gen- 
tiles," for the wealthy ones, they said, had se- 
cured their competency by economy, sacrifice, 
and abstinence from many indulgences the 
others were not willing to forego. Yet when 
these good brethren and sisters saw a choir 
of good singers making heavenly melody as 
they blended their trained voices with the 
eloquent strains of an instrument deftly 
swept by educated and skilled fingers they 
pronounced it "highfalutin'," and looking 
through green eyes upon such work they pro- 
nounced it a "bilious business," too rich for 
saintly blood. 

Others looked upon some who had started 
with them from the same strata of intellectual- 
ity and morals ; but who had outstripped them 
in the race, until the tallow candles of former 
days were now gas jets or incandescent lights 
or even arc illuminators in the church and to 
the world, while they themselves remained 
just where they had sat down and folded their 
arms when the gospel light first touched 
them. They sat there, whining about the 
"importance" and the "swell airs" of the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 303 



brethren or sisters who had heeded the coun- 
sel to "come up higher." 

If one of those luminaries when preaching 
or writing happened to flash a ray of gospel 
brilliance over the spot where the complainer 
sat and expose the mustiness of stagnation, it 
would bring out a reply that was intended as 
no compliment to the fellow who was parad- 
ing his "smartness" and swinging his lantern. 

A little girl was once sweeping the floor of 
a room into which the sunlight was streaming 
through a large window, and on looking up 
she noticed that within the space where the 
streak of light crossed the room the dust was 
floating thickly. Going over to the window 
she drew the blinds down and darkened the 
room. When asked why she had done this, 
she answered that she wanted to exclude the 
sunlight because it made the room so dirty. 
She did not think that the dust was already 
filling the air, and that the sun's rays only 
revealed it more clearly. So the stagnant 
one who complains at the success, triumph, 
and ability of another, whose efforts have 
raised the blinds and let in the light upon 
conditions already existing, tries to have the 
blind drawn and the Spirit shut out, because, 
the light when let in "makes the room dirty." 
They forget that the distance between those 



304 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



whom they criticise and themselves in spir- 
itual force and influence like that between 
their wealthy and poor neighbors, whom they 
have passed judgment upon, is but the meas- 
ure of sacrifice, devotion, diligence, endurance, 
patience, and charity in the advanced ones. 
By dint of these all may climb, if they will, at 
least to that eminence where jealousy cannot 
live; to that point where delight is felt in 
lending a shoulder to help another go where 
we cannot yet climb; that point where Christ 
is esteemed as the one character resplendent 
with perfect light and glory and all brethren 
and sisters who have reached positions where 
as reflectors of his radiance, they can send 
rays here and there of helpful intelligence, 
are loved and admired for the places they 
hold and the righteousness with which they 
occupy them. 

These things came to notice and the Inde- 
pendence branch, as a training school, had 
work to do under these conditions. Every 
progressive step had to be taken carefully, so 
that the effect might not drive away those for 
whom the benefits were mostly intended. 
Quite a number learned that as much good 
could be accomplished by waiting God's time of 
adjustment, as by crowding things prema- 
turely in the settlement of disputed questions, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 305 



that God had not lost interest in his work but 
intended to "hasten it in its time" and not 
ours. 

A host of us learned that quicker and more 
successful work in securing the Holy Spirit 
could be done, by purifying the heart and life 
so that the Spirit could not remain absent, 
than by neglecting this important matter and 
spending the time in clamoring for the Spirit 
in prayer. Nor was the writer exempt from 
the necessities or benefits of such revelations 
and training. As he learned he taught, and 
as he taught he felt the responsibility to do; 
but he grew with the branch's growth and he 
developed under the mortification produced 
by snubs and the humiliation caused by fail- 
ures and mistakes, as well as the joys of asso- 
ciation. He learned that his business was to 
take as willingly as he gave advice and criti- 
cism. 

He learned that his religion was likely to 
bring back to him in confidence and esteem 
of the Saints only the amount of the value of 
its fruits in the markets. If he practiced his 
professsed faith, he was rewarded by the con- 
fidence and love, ultimately, of those who 
were benefited by his work, though the 
genuineness and practicability of his ideas and 
methods might be temporarily questioned. 

20 



306 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



He learned that before making an attack 
upon practices, doctrines, and methods he 
disliked, it would be better to stop long 
enough, at least, to think how he would feel, 
if he was the one holding the position 
attacked. He learned also that it was much 
easier to erect standards for others than to 
live up to them himself. He found it harder 
to develop a virtue than a vice. As in nature 
so in man. The flower must be cultivated, 
tenderly handled, and protected against 
threatening surroundings. It is easily marred 
and quickly ruined, while the weeds grow up 
unsought, uncultivated, and can scarcely be 
destroyed. Our virtues need to be developed, 
watched over, and maintained against the odds 
of environment and Satanic visitation, while 
vice asserts itself at nearly every step, and 
grows in the neglected character, and cannot 
be downed and eradicated by a single effort 
or series of efforts less than life long. 

But a short time ago a brother who was 
undergoing a siege of testing, said to the 
writer: — 

"If I could make my calling sure and be a 
true Saint forever, as the result of a great 
effort for a month or even a year or two, I 
would then be more certain ; but this every 
day, every hour, every moment, watching, 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 307 



fighting, and enduring idea makes me tremble 
for the outcome." 

God has made the length of life the period 
for character-forming, and so long as there 
remains new beauty in Christ, so long will 
there be an unattained virtue to develop or 
extend in the discoverer. Our Holiness 
friends tell of the perfected state to which 
they have attained, but the writer believes 
that virtue is developed by resistence to the 
evil presented. That the Devil will continue 
to present evil till the terminus of earth life is 
reached. That so long as the Devil works, 
resistance will be necessary, either to produce, 
develop, or maintain virtue; that till the bat- 
tle ceases and the field is canvassed, results 
are not absolutely certain ; that no character 
or possessor of virtue can claim "perfection" 
until the last test designed has been endured 
and nothing comes forth from the crucible 
but "pure gold" carrying upon its face the 
reflex of divinity, the Christ photograph. 

I may know what I have done to-day, but 
I know not how I may act to-morrow. New 
tactics, new scenes of attraction to decoy, and 
greater force may be introduced to bewilder 
and overpower me, and my very certainty of 
being able to stand to-morrow because I 
stood yesterday and to-day (if I so argued) 



308 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



may prove to be the unguarded door through 
which my ever watchful enemy may enter and 
pollute my spiritual estate — "Let him that 
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 

My observation during fifteen years of gos- 
pel ministry has led me to so conclude, and 
let me here state that my most convincing 
testimony of the divinity of this latter-day 
work has not come by tongues, or prophecy, 
or vision, or miracle ; but in the gradual reve- 
lation of its strange adaptation to human 
necessity. In no instance has human exi- 
gency cried out for God, under the canopy of 
this gospel protectorate, without hearing the 
answering "Here am I" in some divine pro- 
vision, formerly undiscovered, perhaps, but 
hidden wisely to await the emergency which 
would demonstrate its amplitude and utility, 
and in no place and at no time have I had 
better opportunity to witness this infinite 
adaptation than while at Independence. Not 
that my field of observation was limited to 
that place and the people there ; but because 
in addition to local presentations, events 
transpired which led me to look far back over 
the church history and far around outside of 
any city or town, and trace the divine pro- 
cesses in selecting men and women of varying 
quality and disposition for places and pur- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 309 



poses of his work, and the methods intro- 
duced for their development. During these 
years I saw the sick healed on a number of 
occasions, I discerned the operation of adverse 
spirits, I heard many things testified of by 
Saints of every degree; but beyond and 
above all these gracious manifestations, there 
was a silent force operating and I traced it in 
its unheralded transformations, transitions, 
and achievements in human character, worldly 
attitudes, and church fortifications. 

One thing further I learned to believe ; 
that God never forgets — "God is not mocked, 
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
also reap." 

Jacob played the deceivers part when he 
covered his hand and brought the goat's 
meat to his blind father, calling it venison, 
and thus received the blessing of the first- 
born. He may have repented of his wrong 
later; but there came a time when his sons 
brought a coat of many colors, dripping with 
blood, to him and deceived him regarding his 
darling Joseph. 

He cheated his Brother Esau out of a bless- 
ing which was his by birthright, and he 
seemed to enjoy the result of his falsity and 
deception ; but there came a time when, after 
he had toiled seven years for the object of his 



310 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



affection and believed she was in his embrace 
(for she was his by right) he awoke and 
beheld the contraband Leah by his side ; she 
had been smuggled under cover of night into 
his bed. David sowed adultery and murder 
and reaped a harvest of adultery and murder 
in his own household. God has not changed, 
nor will he be mocked. 

The Saint who sows to carnal gratification 
will reap in spiritual barrenness and corruption 
of character, reputation, and influence. The 
man or woman who deals in scandal or 
delights in peddling slanders will likely live 
to be scandalized. The soul that loves truth 
will be pastured with truth as harvest for his 
sowing. The heart that yearns after Christ 
and delights in the study of his life and char- 
acter, will, even imperceptibly to itself, take 
on the beauties of that model nature, and 
shed a luster and fragrace around that will 
make the place of its residence heavenly* 
The child that abuses its parent will most 
likely live to be abused in turn by its offspring 
and he who runs to spread a net for another's 
feet will doubtless have enough to do in time 
in extricating himself from the meshes of an 
unexpected snare. 

I do not write these things merely to 
parade words before the reader's eyes but 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 311 



simply to say that even in such matters have 
I discovered a divinity connected with what I 
have heard Bro. Joseph Smith call "The law 
of compensation." 

It is, therefore, the more painful to behold, 
here and there, the evidences of recklessness 
in the directions named. In some instances 
a false idea of modesty prevails, by which 
even parents are prevented from warning 
their children against the corrupting influences 
of what they behold in them, notwithstanding 
they see all around them the demoralized and 
imbecile fruitage of such conduct in the gen- 
eration now fading. 

While it may be truthfully urged that this 
autobiography is not the fittest place for such 
references, it cannot be denied that any min- 
ister for Christ who beholds the evil that 
threatens even the houses and families of 
Saints in some cases, has the right to cry out 
anywhere, Parents beware! 

A ministry of sixteen years, which has 
taken me from Maine to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, has proven to me that even the families 
of Saints are not entirely exempt from the 
baneful influences of hidden vice. It is pain- 
ful for a sensitive elder to see suffering any- 
where; but it is peculiarly distressing to be 
called upon to administer to a young person 



312 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



and to discern that the shattered nerves and 
lost vitality are conditions which a little 
wisdom and candor on the parents' part in 
the years agone might have avoided, or which 
the suffering one might escape by wholesome 
restraint of self. In such cases we feel that 
the gift of healing, by which such persons are 
sometimes restored, may well be lauded and 
God's mercy extolled ; but if the exercises of 
the gift of either knowledge or wisdom had 
prevented the admission of such disease into 
the system it would have been better, even 
though none but God and Christ had known 
that the individual possessed the gift. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 313 



CHAPTER XVII. 

NEW FIELDS AND DUTIES. 

"There is never a life of perfect rest, 
And not every cloud has a silver crest, 
But there is a Power unseen and true 
That out of the struggle is leading you; 
In patience and faith to the Father cling, 
You are the subject and G-od is king." 

In the foregoing chapters the reader has 
been led hurriedly along from my cradle to the 
time when the pen was lifted to commence 
this autobiography and but little now remains 
to be added. But few of the incidents that 
have marked my life have I taken his time to 
dwell upon, but those few will be sufficient to 
convince him that God's eye keeps track of 
and his hand ministers to the needs of even 
willful boys, and that sooner or later they will 
be brought face to face with the obligation 
thus revealed and have opportunity to try 
and honorably discharge that obligation, and 
in so doing find occasion to be compassionate 
and forbearing with all the children of men. 

Many events dot the diary of my experi- 
ence which if recited in detail, would but 



314 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



corroborate like testimony borne by others. 
They would tell of sick ones instantly healed, 
of suffering relieved in perhaps hundreds of 
instances, and in a few instances of devils cast 
out by the power that attended the humble 
elder's rebuke and command in his Master's 
name ; but I have refrained purposely from 
much of this because others have made of 
them a specialty in writing and have had 
more marvelous things in that line to relate 
than I have experienced. I have also a wish 
to honor the command which forbids me to 
talk of faith or boast of mighty works. 

I prefer that my autobiography, such as it 
is, shall present me in my peculiar indi- 
viduality before the readers. My calling, as 
I understand it, is to preach the gospel. I 
have not received the gift of healing or 
miracles that I am aware of, though my priest- 
hood has been honored when administering^ 
where those gifted in that line were not pres- 
ent. 

I have been richly blessed of God in 
preaching and because of this gift, which the 
Book of Mormon calls the "gift of preaching," 
have been called upon in numbers of new 
places, by Saints who foolishly supposed that 
a man so blessed in preaching must be 
equally blessed with every other gift. They 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 315 



insisted I should administer to them or their 
sick friends, notwithstanding they have been 
told that their local elders, who were not con- 
sidered as able preachers, would do them 
more good. They forget that the good book 
says that "to one" is given one gift and "to 
another" some other. 

I have known some to suffer longer on 
account of this mistake, which they refused to 
correct, than they otherwise would have done ; 
but hesitation on my part when called upon 
to go would have been interpreted as an evi- 
dence of indifference or cruelty and I have 
submitted. 

The fact remains, however, that we have 
scores of elders who have but limited ability 
in preaching publicly, but who have gifts, 
designed for the healing of the Saints and for 
other purposes of presidency and counsel. 
Many of these are ignored in the idea that an 
apostle, or prophet, or president, or seventy 
who happens to be favored when in the stand 
with a free outpouring of the Spirit to preach, 
must also have more power or faith to heal 
than local elders have. I cannot speak for 
others, of course, but I know that in some 
cases under my own observation, they have 
experimented to their hurt. 

Leaving home in September, 1890, was the 



316 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



hardest effort of the kind of my life. My 
oldest son was in his seventeenth and my 
oldest daughter in her fifteenth year. Then 
there was the nine year old girl, the six year 
old girl, and the three year old boy, (and such 
a boy !) besides the little woman who was to 
bear alone the care of their guardianship in 
addition to her own loneliness. On the 
Sunday evening I had stood while hundreds 
of Saints, who seemed about as dear to me as 
mortals can well be, shook my hands, and 
tearfully said good-bye, and had endured the 
parting fairly well till I got to the seclusion 
of home and found freer vent for my feelings; 
but when, after nearly four years of stay, 
(excepting short trips away,) I reached the 
point where "Good-bye" must be said to my 
family, and some of them hung on my neck, 
while others looked what they could not 
speak, I confess it was trial enough, without 
thought of any ahead in my field of labor. 
So, with a sadder heart than I had felt for 
many years, I left the weeping group of chil- 
dren. 

My wife accompanied me to Kansas City 
where, in company with Brn. J. A. and W. N. 
Robinson and their wives, Sr. Belle Robinson, 
Bro. F. G. Pitt, and Sr. Jennie Newton, we 
spent most of the day. Learning that the 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 317 



members of the First Presidency were at the 
reunion at Logan, I determined to call there 
on my way East to learn whether the death 
of Bishop Blakeslee (which had occurred) 
would necessitate any call upon the leading 
quorums, and thus make delay on my part 
advisable. 

The train for Independence left before my 
train for the East, and took my wife and the 
others away. I was then alone, and what that 
feeling meant I can never describe. I walked 
the entire length of the Union Depot plat- 
form between the cars and wept like a child. 
It might be childish, but I could not help it. 
I there covenanted with God to remain in the 
field as long as he would give me health, and 
asked for grace to preserve me in righteous- 
ness. 

My sister and her husband (Bro. and Sr. 
Thomas Hattey) came to the depot in time 
to see me before leaving. Then Bro. J. A. 
Robinson returned from Independence and 
accompanied me as far as St. Joseph, Mis- 
souri. Next morning I reached the camp 
ground and for nearly two days enjoyed the 
association of the assembled Saints and 
preached once. 

Finding that everything had been arranged 
for the Bishopric work, I left for the East, 



318 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



though it was hard to leave the reunion before 
its close, a thing I had never been guilty of 
before. But duty said go, and I had been 
delayed too long already, so I pushed on to 
Toronto, where I visited my mother and sis- 
ter and several relatives and friends, also the 
house of my birth, and the Methodist church 
(now replaced by a grand structure) where I 
used to preach and pray. 

I talked the gospel to a good many people, 
but did not know that a number of Saints 
had moved in there and were holding meet- 
ings. This visit was too short ; but go I 
must, and, bidding farewell to my dear old 
mother, I started for my new field. The 
journey to Montreal and thence to Boston 
was monotonous, for I was in no condition to 
admire anything. Reaching Boston on the 
8th of October I repaired to the home of Bro. 
and Sr. Frank Steffe, where I met Bro. W. H. 
Kelley and others, who were present to attend 
conference. 

From this point my labors in the East 
began and included work in Providence and 
Pawtucket, Rhode Island; also in Fall River, 
New Bedford, North Weymouth, Massa- 
chusetts; Deer Isle, Jonesport, and Lamoine, 
Maine; New Canaan, Connecticut; and 
Brooklyn, New York; as well as Cape Cod. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 319 



The spring conference of 1 89 1, at Kirtland, 
appointed me in charge of the Rocky Moun- 
tain mission, but by request of the First 
Presidency I returned to the East for a few 
months first, making my home for several 
months at the residence of Bro. and Sr. Wil- 
liam Blood in Providence, and it was such a 
home as any elder may well feel proud of. 
The gospel is the theme there and its fruits 
are manifest. Sr. Blood is one of the first 
workers in the church and Sunday school 
there, and around her cluster the young ladies 
of the branch, like ivies around the pine. 

My health failed me and after some months 
I reached that condition where it seemed I 
must return home. I prayed over it and 
finally told the Lord that I wished to take 
back the promise I made to stay in the field 
while I had health, and substitute a pledge to 
stay in the field, health or no health. I 
resolved to stay, though I should die. After 
this my health improved. 

In the Eastern mission I found the foot- 
prints of Adam and Beelzebub. Adam had 
been aroused by the other and had put down 
his foot with a vengeance in one or two places. 
To uproot evil and maintain the dignity of 
our gospel standards, Brn. E. C. Briggs, W. 
H. Kelley, M. H. Bond, F. M. Sheehy, A. H. 



320 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



Parsons, and several local brethren, including 
Brn. John Smith and Thomas Whiting had 
been at work, and excepting Bro. Briggs, were 
still working in the district. Differences of 
judgment had led to different attitudes on 
questions under investigation and serious con- 
sequences were threatened. The mission- 
aries had done noble work which, in time, 
will be vindicated fully to their credit ; but 
where iniquity gains a foothold and Satan 
has clinched its rivets it requires long patience 
and endurance of opposition to bring about 
the reformation desired. 

I entered the field to supplement the labors 
of my predecessors, for I believed they were 
right and had done well ; but my methods of 
approach and dealing with the troubles before 
me were not in exact line with some of theirs, 
which may have led some of them to misin- 
terpret me a little. 

The great purpose, as I conceived it, was 
to call the attention of all hands away from 
the objects which had been magnified to 
their hurt, and to securely fasten it and their 
affection upon something more worthy of 
their interest, leaving the other matters to 
develop, and when a crisis came, if ever, it 
would hurt the few who preferred to be hurt,, 
rather than the many who loved the gospel 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 321 



more than their own wills or selfishness. 
How far success was attained by this process, 
I am unable to state. 

The limits of such a writing as this will not 
admit of a mention of the names of scores of 
excellent Saints whose study day and night 
seemed to have particular reference to the 
advancement of gospel work, and who worked 
heart and soul with the writer to that end. A 
host of young ladies were banded together 
in Providence and other branches, and with 
voice and hand contributed freely and richly 
to the measure of success under achieve- 
ment. 

Extending my labors to Maine, I found a 
host of earnest toilers at Deer Isle and Jones- 
port and proved that the reputation in which 
they were held throughout the East was fully 
warranted. They ought to be oftener heard 
through the channels of church literature. 
While among them I grew in mental, spiri- 
tual, and physical stature, and breathed all 
the more freely because I was not called upon 
to do any other work than preach and live 
the gospel. 

August arrived, however, and with it the 
time set for me to start westward. So, part- 
ing from the Maine branches, I called at 

Providence and Boston, and from thence 
21 



322 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



started at noon, August 4, for Toronto, 
Canada. 

Arriving in my native city again, I found 
mother in better health than for a long time 
before, and intensely interested in the gospel 
work. A dozen or more Saints from different 
points had settled there and were holding 
meetings weekly in a hall which they had 
secured. A preaching meeting was adver- 
tised with my name as bait for old Methodist 

acauaintances. As a result of this and what 
j. 

visiting I done, a few of them were attracted 
to the meeting, and for over one hour I gave 
them reasons not only for leaving, but also 
for staying away from Methodism. I was 
blessed and hoped they were. All seemed to 
feel well pleased and satisfied. Perhaps they 
will remain satisfied without any more, but I 
hope not. 

I availed myself of the opportunity to visit 
some of my relatives and also of "posting" 
them as to my religious whereabouts. They 
gave me splendid audience and made many 
inquiries, and assured me of their fullest con- 
fidence. One of my aunts also expressed her 
faith in the doctrine so far as I had time to 
explain it. It was a busy time for me till the 
expiration of my railroad ticket time limit, 
but I enjoyed it hugely. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 323 



Monday, August 10, I parted from mother, 
sister, and many other dear ones and con- 
tinued my journey home, where I arrived on 
the morning of the 13th, and found all well 
except my wife who showed traces of care 
and extreme nervousness, but who improved 
during the few weeks of my stay before start- 
ing for the Rocky Mountains. 

A few weeks later found me again battling 
with the evils of Brighamism. My home in 
Salt Lake City was with Bro. and Sr. Joseph 
Wilson. Considerable of my time was 
devoted to visiting among the people. A 
change had taken place. The President of the 
Utah church had issued a manifesto which in 
away, forbade further polygamous marriages, 
and which he afterwards stated was intended 
to prevent all relations under former polyga- 
mous marriages. The public presentation of 
that doctrine was therefore, a thing of the 
past, and I only wish the evidences confront- 
ing me had been such as to convince me that 
the practice was abandoned. However, my 
labor continued till time to return to confer- 
ence at Independence. There I was reap- 
pointed to the mission together with Bro. A. 
H. Smith and others. 

Hoping to improve her health by the trip 
my wife accompanied me to Idaho, where; for 



324 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



a short time we enjoyed the kind and gener- 
ous hospitality of Sr. Eliasson. Scarcely had 
I started operations there, when a telegram 
from Bro. A. H. Smith called me to Salt 
Lake City to help care for Bro. T. W. Smith, 
who, while stopping over there on his way to 
California and Australia, had been suddenly 
stricken with paralysis. Thither we hastened 
by first train and remained till his removal 
home, whither he was accompanied by Bro. 
A. H. Smith. From thence, after holding a 
few meetings in the city and at Pleasant 
Grove, I started for Idaho, and was there 
joined by Bro. R. J. Anthony. Together we 
held services at Little Blackfoot and thence 
proceeded to Deer Lodge, Montana, where 
we were hospitably entertained by Bro 
Andrew Cristofferson and family. After- 
holding several meetings in the little chapel 
there, I left Bro. Anthony to pursue the work 
in adjoining parts and took train for Belgrade, 
where for a short time my labors were confined 
to the Reese Creek branch. Here as before 
I found a band of Saints with abundance of 
every material thing to keep things flourishing. 
The enemy knew also of their equipment in 
this respect and as he always does, directed 
special attention to prevent the accomplish- 
ment of the splendid work possible. In his 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



325 



line he was faithful, and if all the Saints had 
been as markedly so, that region of country 
might easily resound with the reverberating 
echoes of the blessed message of life; but 
unfortunately the diligence of the Devil does 
not always provoke like diligence in us, and 
he gets the start of us and often holds ground 
that we might possess to God's honor. I was 
treated well by all while there and made my 
home with Elder J. E. Reese and wife. 

During my stay here I went to a small 
place called Bridger, high up in the canyon a 
few miles from Bozeman, to fill an appoint- 
ment made for me by the brethren before my 
arrival. Here I baptized Mrs. Standridge and 
two of her children, whom I also confirmed, 
and blessed her other children, being assisted 
by Brn. J. E. and Gomer Reese, the latter 
being branch president at Reese Creek. A 
fact came to my knowledge that may be 
worth relating. Some months before this the 
lady above-named had been reading a sermon 
of mine in the Ensign, and after reading and 
noticing my name at the head of it was dis- 
tinctly told by the Spirit that I should bap- 
tize her. At that time I was in Missouri, and 
was a stranger to her ; but what she had read 
convinced her of the truth of the work and 
what the Spirit told her assured her that the 



326 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



Lord would some day permit her to meet me. 
Weeks passed into months until on the 14th 
of August the Brethren Reese announced at 
the close of their meeting that Elder Joseph 
Luff, of Missouri, would preach there the fol- 
lowing Sunday. Immediately, upon hearing 
this name, Mrs. Standridge rose up before the 
people and exclaimed, "Glory be to God, that 
is the man the Lord told me would baptize 
me." She then told the elders she would be 
ready for baptism when I came. While these 
were not the fruit of my labor in any sense, 
yet the mention of the matter will serve to 
show that God goes before his servants and 
prepares the hearts of the people in ways 
peculiar to himself. Before leaving that sec- 
tion I preached at Spring Hill schoolhouse to 
a quite large and intelligent audience. 

Legal matters requiring my attention neces- 
sitated a return to Missouri, hence I called at 
Salt Lake City where my wife and youngest 
child were being cared for by Bro. and Sr. 
Joseph Wilson, and with them started east- 
ward, arriving home about September i- 
Answering an invitation from the committee 
in charge, I attended the fall reunion at 
Logan, Iowa, and contributed my mite toward 
its success. From that time till the confer- 
ence of 1893, at Lamoni, Iowa, my time was 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF, 



327 



spent in preaching in places in Missouri and 
Kansas within a radius of one hundred miles 
from home, as it was found impracticable for 
me to return to the Rocky Mountains. 

One result of the conference at Lamoni 
was an addition to my responsibilities, having 
been appointed a member of the Board of 
Publication, and by the Board corresponding 
editor of the Saints Herald. My field of 
labor as a missionary includes Missouri, Illi- 
nois, Iowa, and Central and Southern Indiana, 
and the concluding lines of this autobiography 
are being written at home, from whence, in 
its revised form, it is sent forth to serve as 
best it may the heart purpose of its writer. 

Forty years since my first and seventeen 
years since my second birth have passed and 
with what little that has been learned by 
experience and observation, I am prepared to 
more cheerfully and contentedly commit my 
interests for time and eternity into the hands 
of the Lord than ever. He who has done so 
well for me in the past may surely be trusted 
for the future. May the influence of this life- 
story be such as to impel the boys who read 
to consecrate their years to God and reap a 
benediction of peace here, and glory hereafter. 
May the kind hand that has preserved the 
writer since the days of innocence and 



228 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



infancy, through the roguishness of boyhood, 
and the willfulness of following years and on 
till his arrival at the plane of highest spiritual 
possibilities, also bless the boys and girls who 
look through this brief autobiography as 
through a window at his character. May the 
foregoing prove a stimulus to hope and 
endeavor in at least some of those who have 
perused it and thus bring fresh cause to the 
writer for praise, and added glory to God. 



SERMON. 



FATHERHOOD OF GOD 

AND 

BROTHERHOOD OF MAN. 



Text. — Acts 17: 28: "For we are also his off- 
spring." 

Matthew 23: 8, 9: "All ye are brethren. . . . 
One is your Father, which is in heaven." 

For the contents of the Bible we, of to-day, 
are in no sense responsible; the book was 
here before we came. Only for the treatment 
it receives at our hands can we be held 
accountable. Pleasing or painful, winning or 
repelling, rigorous or lenient as its aspect and 
implied requirements may appear, they must 
forever stand to us, severally, as the expres- 
sion of whatever will we perceive behind 
them. To modify its phraseology will in no 
sense affect the fixedness of whatever purpose 
it was intended to serve. To modernize its 



330 



SERMON BY 



recommendations will not release us from 
whatever of obligation they were intended 
anciently to impose. 

Between it and us human creeds may inter- 
pose to relieve us from the arbitrary force of 
its decrees, but when these creeds are dead, 
this law will live, and we in future days may 
sadly find that we have not escaped, but simply 
deferred arraignment before its inexorable 
bar. It may be, too, that what we then shall 
lack, will tell the tale of blessings missed, 
between the now and then, because of such 
postponement. 

We approach this book to-day with rever- 
ential feeling, for to us it tells the will of 
Heaven. Its story is the God revealment. 
Hence, 

Where its voice is heard all controversy dies 

And human skill is wasted that aims at compromise. 

Anxious to know our origin, our mission, 
and our destiny, we consult its pages. It is 
important that we shall know what part in 
life's great drama our Creator intended or 
desired we should play, that thus performing, 
we may stand acquitted finally, and gain pro- 
motion at his hand. Life can be a success 
only in so far as this purpose is served. 
Hence we ask : — 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 331 



1. To whom are we indebted for present 
existence and what are our Creator's attri- 
butes ? 

2. What is our heritage here under his 
design ? 

3. Upon what conditions is the enjoyment 
of our heritage dependent? 

Opening the book our first question is 
answered in plainness: — 

"God that made the world and all things 
therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and 
earth, . . . hath made of one blood all nations 
of men for to dwell on all the face of the 
earth, and hath determined the times before 
appointed, and the bounds of their habita- 
tion." — Acts 17: 24-26. 

"Our Father which art in heaven." — Mat- 
thew 6: 9. 

"Have we not all one Father? hath not 
one God created us?" — Malachi 2: 10. 

"But to us there is but one God^ the Father, 
of whom are all things, and we in him." — 
Corinthians 8 : 6. 

"One God and Father of all." — Ephesians 

4:6. 

"For I am the Lord, I change not." — Mala- 
chi 3:6. 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is 
from above, and cometh down from the 



332 



SERMON BY 



Father of lights, with whom is no variable- 
ness, neither shadow of turning." — James 1:17. 

"For there is no respect of persons with 
God." — Rom. 2: it. (1 Peter 1:17; Acts 10: 

34.) 

Three points are thus settled; viz., God is 
our Father. He is unchangeable. He is 
impartial, or no respecter of persons. 

Faith in these declarations pledges us to 
an acknowledgment of the common father- 
hood of God and brotherhood of man. It 
fastens upon him the responsibility of our 
existence as to time and place, as fully as it 
does the existence of Paul, or Moses, or 
Abraham, and their surroundings, for it 
declares that he "determined the times before 
appointed and the bounds of their habitation," 
of "all that dwell upon all the face of the 
earth." In view of this foreordination, when 
we also consent to the foreknowledge claimed 
in Isaiah 46:9, 10, and Acts 15 : 18, it is but 
reasonable to expect that a father who never 
intended to change, and who was no respecter 
of persons, would so ordain from the start, 
that not one member of his family would ever 
be deprived of any good he made possible for 
another. We are justified from these dec- 
larations in looking for one universal provision 
for the entire family ; so far, at least, as 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 333 



relates to the interests of the soul he had 
assigned a tabernacle here. 

It is with gladness therefore, that we hail 
the announcement of Ecclsiastes 3:14, 15: 
"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall 
be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor 
anything taken from it : and God doeth it 
that men shall fear before him. That which 
hath been is now ; and that which is to be 
hath already been ; and God requireth that 
which is past." 

God's original gospel provision was com- 
mensurate with the moral exigencies of the 
race, and neither time nor circumstance has 
ever increased or decreased human necessity 
in that direction. "That which hath been is 
now; and that which is to be hath already 
been ; and God requireth" and always will 
require of men the same as he required in the 
past, as a condition upon which his infinite 
provision shall cover those necessities. We 
have neither need nor disposition to apologize 
for the character of that original, ancient, 
divine provision. If it represented God once 
it must represent him for ever, for he cannot 
change. "Nothing can be put to it, nor any- 
thing taken from it," for with any addition to it 
or subtraction from it, it would cease to repre- 
sent his invariable mind. To lessen its 



334 



SERMON BY 



obligations or increase its exactions would 
indicate a "respect of persons" which his 
eternal Fatherhood is not chargeable with 
according to the book. 

Again we open the book and in answer to 
our second question read : — 

"Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth 
the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, 
Abba, Father." — Galatians 4 : 6. 

"Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to 
your children, and to all'that are afar off, even 
as many as the Lord our God shall call." — 
Acts 2 : 38, 39. 

"The manifestation of the Spirit is given to 
every man to profit withal. For to one is 
given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to 
another the word of knowledge by the same 
Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; 
to another the cnfts of healing by the same 
Spirit; to another the working of miracles; 
to another prophecy;. to another discerning 
of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; 
to another the interpretation of tongues ; but 
all these worketh that one and the selfsame 
Spirit dividing to every man severally as he 
will." — 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. 

"These signs shall follow them that 
believe: In my name shall they cast out 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



335 



devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 
they shall take up serpents, and if they drink 
any deadly thing it shall not hurt them. 
They shall lay hands on the sick and they 
shall recover." — Mark 16:17, 18. (Also see 
John 14: 26 ; 15 : 26; 16; 13-15.) 

"I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; 
and your sons and your daughters shall 
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, 
your young men shall see visions : and also 
upon the servants and upon the handmaids 
in those days will I pour out my Spirit." — 
Joel 2 : 28, 29. 

Glorious heritage, indeed, and worthy of 
such a Father. By means of this we are to 
cry "Abba, Father." By this we are to know 
he is our Father and prove his unchangea- 
bility and impartiality. His Spirit is to be in 
us. That Spirit is life (Ezek. 37 : 14; John 6 : 
63 ; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Pet. 3:18; Rev. 11: 11), 
and that life, being one with God (1 John 5 : 
7), is eternal. Eternal life is our heritage 
even here. It is to be given us, first, that we 
may know our Father and our elder brother, 
Jesus Christ, for "this is [the object of] life 
eternal, that they might know thee the only 
true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
sent." — John 17:3. This knowledge cannot 
be obtained except by this agent. (1 Cor. 



336 



SERMON BY 



12:3; Matt. 11:27.) It is given that we 
may commune with him through the exercise 
of the gifts enumerated. It is given that 
futurity may be lifted, and we may gaze on 
things to come. It is given that we may be 
preserved from the treachery of enemies who 
seek to inflict evils upon us. It is given to 
heal our diseased bodies. It is given that we 
may abound in righteous fruit. (Gal. 5:22; Eph. 
5:9.) It is to redeem our bodies from thegrasp 
of death at the resurrection morn. (Rom. 8 : 
11 ; 1 Cor. 15: 44.) It is made accessible to 
us through the suffering endured by Jesus 
Christ. (Gal. 3:13, 14.) 

To slight this proffered seal of sonship is 
to trample on the blood that made it availa- 
ble. He is an unworthy son who slightly 
esteems a heritage so divine and dearly 
bought. Eagerly we turn again and press 
our third question : "Upon what conditions 
can we enter and enjoy this heritage?" Will 
the book answer this important question as 
plainly as the others ? Let us open and see: — 

"He that heareth my words, and believeth 
on him that sent me, hath everlasting life." — 
John 5: 24. 

"Fear God, and keep his commandments : 
for this is the whole duty of man." — Ecclesi- 
astes 1 1 : 13. 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 337 



"... Observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you: and, lo, I am with 
you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
— Matthew 28 : 20. 

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." — Acts 16: 31. 

"This is his commandment that we should 
believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ." 
—1 John 3 : 23. 

"God . . . commandeth all men every- 
where, to repent." — Acts 17: 30. 

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Ghost."— Acts 2 138. 

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved ; . . . and these signs shall follow." — 
Mark 16: 16, 17. 

"They were baptized in the name of the 
Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his 
hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on 
them ; and they spake with tongues and 
prophesied." — Acts 19: 5, 6. 

"Then laid they their hands on them and 
they received the Holy Ghost. . . . Through 
laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy 
Ghost was given." — Acts 8: 17, 18. 

"Therefore leaving the principles of the 

doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; 

22 



338 



SERMON BY 



not laying again the foundation of repentance 
from dead works, and of faith toward God, of 
the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of 
hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and 
of eternal judgment." — Hebrews 6: i, 2. 

What could be plainer? By creation I am 
God's son, but the possession of my inheri- 
tance depends upon my obedience. Here I 
am clearly informed as to what was required 
of other portions of the common brother- 
hood of man, and our Father has not changed. 
He is not partial. Hence, if I would enjoy 
that heritage, he "requireth [of me] that 
which is past," or, what he demanded of 
others. 

We frankly admit that these spiritual gifts 
are not to be found among what are commonly 
known as evangelical churches to day. We 
grant that the popular educators of the age 
have long pronounced them necessary ; but 
these same teachers have put this book in our 
hands and insisted that we abide its counsel. 
Acting upon their advice we have opened and 
read of what our Father in heaven has done 
for man and found that "whatsoever God 
doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be 
put to it, nor anything taken from it." Hence 
as a part of his family we claim under the 
ordinances that provide for the race and 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 339 



protest against human proscription. Right 
here an objection is urged, that our admission 
as to the absence of these things in the mod- 
ern churches is against this argument. In 
reply, we invite the objector to go with us on 
a tour of investigation among those religious 
bodies, to examine well their articles of faith, 
their creed formulas, and to listen carefully to 
their public and authorized enunciations. Let 
him, with us, catechise those theologians who 
are supported to voice the popular religious 
sentiment, and then answer us one question : 
"Are the conditions being observed upon 
which this divine pledge was to hold good to 
the race?" If not, the objection fails. 

It would be the extreme of folly to claim 
exemption from duty and at the same time 
expect the reward of service. The divine law 
has been given for our government. "Whoso 
looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and 
contin ueth therein, he being not a forget- 
ful hearer, but A DOER OF THE WORK, THIS MAN 
SHALL BE BLESSED IN HIS DEED." James I: 25. 

But "He that turneth away his ear from hear- 
ing the law, even his prayer shall be abomina- 
tion." — Proverbs 28 : 9. 

The church we represent has .suffered 
ostracism since its organization in 1830, 
because it could not affiliate with Christen- 



340 



SERMON BY 



dom on any terms that involved a com- 
promise with the divine law. It may be that 
baptism is not "for the remission of sins;" but 
if so, the misconception originated with God. 
It may be that the laying on of hands, as an 
ordinance, is unworthy the notice of men who 
can frame creeds and confessions; but it 
comes to us direct from him who made the 
world and all things that are therein. Our 
folly, like Paul's heresy, consists in "believing 
all things which are written in the law and in 
the prophets," and in conscientiously observ- 
ing what they enjoin. (See Acts 24: 14-16.) 
If we hope for as full a salvation as was 
promised ancient saints we should claim no 
exemption from the obligations imposed upon 
them, and we should not esteem that church 
an enemy to us that clings most closely to 
God. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth 
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. 
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he 
hath both the Father and the Son." — 2 John 9. 

This is no truer of men than of churches, 
and if a church has not God and Christ, what 
can it confer upon man ? This scripture 
means, if it means anything, that God will 
stay with his doctrine, hence he who stays 
closest by that doctrine lives nearest to God. 
The importance of the conditions already 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 341 



referred to is thus magnified, in that they tell 
us what this doctrine is that God and Christ 
stand so closely by. As already shown from 
Hebrews 6: i, 2, it embraces faith, repentance, 
baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection of 
the dead, and eternal judgment. He who 
feels disgraced or offended when asked to 
contend for a faith that reflects the best wis- 
dom of God, ought to be ashamed to own 
God as his Father, and deserves to remain 
forever destitute of the Holy Spirit by which 
that faith shone so gloriously resplendent in 
Bible days. For God to confer that Spirit 
and its gifts on those who reject those princi- 
ples of ancient law, would be to cast dishonor 
on the law itself, and forfeit claim upon the 
respect and love of martyrs long since dead, 
whose , blood, like that of their Master, was 
poured out in expression of their faith in him 
who authorized the proclamations, "I change 
not;" "I am no respecter of persons;" "My 
purposes shall stand ;" "The word of the Lord 
endureth forever. And this is the word, 
which by the gospel is preached unto you." — 
1 Peter 1 : 25. 

Where the law is dishonored by man the 
Spirit is fenced out, and the church is dead. 
A dead church can transmit no life to its 
adherents. A human body may be preserved 



342 



SERMON BY 



after death by chemical process for a long 
time, and thus be made to serve a purpose in 
demonstrating human skill; but for the pur- 
poses of its original creation it is useless. A 
church may exist for ages and command the 
support of millions who admire its ingenious 
escape from ancient Bible obligations; but 
where those doctrines are not, neither is the 
Spirit, and that church is powerless to per- 
form the functions that alone can confer life 
on those affiliating. 

Who wants a church for ornament or 
religion for a show? Who wants the Bible 
for a means to prove that his wisdom has out- 
stripped that of his God? Who wants to 
pray merely because it is pleasant pastime? 

All who believe that the church, religion, 
the Bible, and prayer are of divine appoint- 
ment and too sacred to be made the toys of 
human caprice, please go with us a little farther 
and look through "nature up to nature's God;" 
judge of his design in providing for spiritual 
man by his arrangement for physical man and 
nature throughout. ''The invisible things of 
him from the creation of the world are 
clearly seen, being understood by the things 
that are made, even his eternal power and 
Godhead." — Romans i : 20. 

From Genesis 1 : 14-17 we learn that God 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



343 



"set" the sun, moon, and stars in the firma- 
ment of the heavens to rule by day and night, 
to give light and to be for signs, and seasons, 
and days, and years, as well as to separate the 
day from the night. All are agreed that not 
only our well-being but our very existence 
itself is made dependent upon these orbs — 
life, light, heat, vegetation, the tides, and in 
fact almost all things material are the result 
of their service. Who can imagine the 
anarchy of matter that would be entailed by 
the cessation of their functions for a single 
second ? 

When, therefore, God "set" them in the fir- 
ment he did not seek to provide merely for 
Adam or the people of any favorite genera- 
tion, but for the race of man and the earth as 
man's habitation. One general provision was 
made for all time, and nothing in the line of 
human necessity has since arisen for which 
that provision has not been found commensu- 
rate. In the line of physical necessity "that 
which hath been is now ; and that which is to 
be hath already been ;" and to meet that 
necessity what God once did "shall be for 
ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing 
taken from it." As long, therefore, as human 
life is to be continued and the products of the 
soil, atmosphere, and tides, together with 



344 



SERMON BY 



light, are essential, so long will their original 
causes continue. 

Nor will the Almighty ever attempt an 
improvement upon those orbs with a view to 
better serving the purposes unto which they 
were originally ordained. His wisdom at the 
commencement was as great as it now is, and 
was manifest in appointing a means commen- 
surate with all the existing and subsequently 
recurring exigencies of physical creation for- 
ever. Should I, therefore, be asked why 
these orbs shine as they shone centuries ago, 
I should find ready and full answer in the fact 
that the same necessity that called for their 
first appointment continues. God's ordina- 
tions were to meet necessities and not to con- 
fer exceptional good upon certain favorites. 
Wherever the need exists, those involved 
therein are comprehended in the provision 
once made. Hence no man has ever found 
occasion to complain of, or apologize for, any 
of these orbs of day or night because of their 
being inadequate to the service assigned them. 
Nor has human ingenuity ever suggested as 
good or better means of accomplishing the 
work. It was Godlike, not only in the full- 
ness of its efficacy, but also in the perpe- 
tuity of its adaptation and design. It was a 
Creator's supply for the needs of creation 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



345 



— the provision of a Father for his family. 

Follow the entire work of creation through 
and the same principle holds good. The 
organs of which the human body was com- 
posed when Adam was created, are the 
organs essential in man to-day and the 
functions remain unchanged. The eyes to 
see, the ears to hear, the feet to walk, the 
hands to labor, the tongue to speak, and the 
brain to think. The external agents and 
influences which operated upon, excited, or 
inspired those members in early man still 
exert their power upon man of to-day and 
will do so while the race continues. God set 
them in the human body, and the lapse of 
centuries has never shown a need for improve- 
ment. Physical man is "of the earth, earthy," 
and his framework was ordained as a means 
of adapting him to the conditions of earth 
life. Hence while light remains the eye as an 
organ will be affected thereby, and the ear by 
sound. While labor is required either mental 
or physical, the brain and hands will exhibit 
the wisdom of the God who adapted them 
thereto ; so with the feet for travel and the 
tongue and mouth for speech, the nose for 
smelling, etc. Never has the thought entered 
the mind of man that these organs will ever 
cease to be essential while light, and sound, 



346 



SERMON BY 



and odor, and motion, and labor, and commu- 
nication are associated with mundane condi- 
tions. Just as he decides regarding the sun,, 
and moon, and stars in the firmament, so he 
concludes concerning these organs in the 
body of man — they were ordained of God 
with specific objects in view, and while the 
ancient necessities continue unchanged the 
appointments hold good and will never be 
extended or modified either in character or 
design. 

All of this clearly emphasizes the wise 
man's words, already quoted, "What God 
doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be 
added to it, nor any thing taken from it." If 
then, as already shown, "the invisible" or 
spiritual things of God "from the creation of 
the world are clearly seen, being understood 
by the things that are made," what conclusion 
must we reach as to the perpetuity of his 
appointments for spiritual man? Let us 
read : — 

"God hath set some in the church, first 
apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teach- 
ers, after that miracles, gifts of healings, 
helps, governments, diversities of tongues." — 
i Corinthians 12:28. 

Let us now learn of the purpose to be 
served by this: — 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 347 



"He gave some, apostles ; and some, 
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, 
pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of 
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for 
the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all 
come, in the unity of the faith, and of the 
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect 
man unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ." — Ephesians 4 : 1 1-13. 

Let us remember that the same word is 
employed here as in Genesis regarding the 
sun and moon — God "set" them in the church. 
What was the necessity? "For the perfecting 
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for 
the edifying of the body of Christ." 

Let us not forget that "what God doeth it 
shall be forever." This was a provision, not 
to favor a few members of his family, but for 
the entire family. No man will dispute that 
the necessity still exists. Saints need perfect- 
ing, the ministry work is in demand as much 
if not more than ever, and the church needs 
edification. Who, then, can be so foolish as 
to believe that what God once ordained to 
meet this necessity is no longer required, 
that the church can as well get along without 
apostles and prophets as with them. As well 
might we conclude that a man can get along 
without eyes and ears and other members as 



'348 



SERMON BY 



with them, or the earth and its inhabitants 
without the sun and moon. The argument 
of Paul in i Corinthians 12 : 1-27 is directed 
against such position. 

As in the physical so in the spiritual realm 
— the necessities have never changed. "That 
which hath been is now; and that which is to 
be hath already been; and God requireth that 
which is past." To meet those necessities 
"whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever" 
— what he once required of man he still 
demands. Man to-day should not be satisfied 
with less assurance of sonship to God or cer- 
tificate of inheritance than was enjoyed by 
children of the same family and Father cen- 
turies ago ; but while this is true he should 
not expect those tokens on any other terms 
than were declared in the Father's will at that 
time. He who appreciates his Father's pro- 
vision will be satisfied with no less favor. He 
who honors his Fathers wisdom will ask no 
easies terms. While, therefore, we spread 
our hands and cry, "Our Father, which art in 
heaven," let us be consistent in our pleading, 
remembering the pertinent question of the 
Savior: "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and 
do not the things which I say ?" Let us heed 
the counsel, "Examine yourselves, whether 
ye be in the faith;" and to "earnestly contend 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 349 

for the faith which was once delivered unto 
the saints." 



THE MODERN STUMBLING-STONE, 

' 'Beware of false prophets, which come to yon 
in sheep's clothing, bnt inwardly they are ravening 
wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." — 
Matthew 7: 15, 16. 

"This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, ano 
it seemed great unto me: There was a little city, 
and few men within it; and there came a great 
king against it, and besieged it, and built great 
bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a 
poor wise man, and he, by his wisdom delivered 
the city; yet no man remembered that same poor 
man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: 
nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, 
and his words are not heard."— Ecclesiastes 9: 
13-16. 

The fortunes or fate of revealed truth seem 
to be nearly alike in all ages. In the blood 
of its advocates and defenders can be traced 
the line of its march in the dispensations of 
history, and the records now being- faithfully 
made will furnish to the world nothing but 
duplicates of what is already possessed. Like 



350 



SERMON BY 



its author, truth comes to its own but its own 
receives it not. 

The inquisition connected with the bloody 
apprenticeship it seems destined to serve is 
generally instituted by the Phariseeism of its 
time. Those busiest in painting - and garnish- 
ing the tombs of dead prophets are generally 
first to bring the stone, the fagot, and the 
cross for living ones. Those who make them- 
selves hoarse in crying, "We know that God 
spake to Moses" are generally ready to vary 
their speech with an occasional "Away with 
him, crucify him," when their attention is 
called to Jesus Christ. 

All ancient revelation was once modern 
and its first advocates in any age were anathe- 
matized. Noah's proclamation was as divine 
and genuine as God could authorize, yet it 
convinced not a single soul outside of his 
own family. It was new and somewhat novel, 
was the only objection that could be urged 
against it. They had their traditions of God, 
handed down from Adam ; and yet in their 
lives and teachings they were far from right- 
eousness, hence Noah's preaching was an 
offense to them. Pharisees of this age shed 
tears as they read and think of one hundred 
and twenty years spent by this faithful patri- 
arch in a fruitless effort to reclaim those 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



351 



heedless hearers and they denounce the hard- 
heartedness and stiff-neckedness of such 
people, yet they forget or are indifferent to 
the intimation, "As it was in the days of 
Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming 
of the Son of Man." They are to-day despis- 
ing as grand an overture from heaven as was 
extended by Noah. 

Jesus asked his auditors to "Search the 
Scriptures," for they testified of him, and 
said, "Had ye believed Moses ye would have 
believed me, for he wrote of me ;" but they 
did not believe Moses nor the Scriptures 
intelligently. They believed the corrupted 
traditions that had reached them and which 
were being presented as interpretations of the 
Scriptures by their priests, hence their eyes 
were blinded to the true intent and facts of 
"Moses and the prophets." Jesus came to 
magnify, fulfill, and unfold the law — God sent 
him for that purpose; but their traditions 
stood between them and him, hence they 
murdered their best friend whom they had 
been pleading and waiting for. 

Paul stood up for the "hope of Israel" and 
endeavored from their own Scriptures to prove 
Jesus to be the central figure connected there- 
with — the Christ indeed; but he was branded 
a heretic and denounced as a pestilent fellow, 



352 



SERMON BY 



a stirrer up of strife. He was beaten, impris- 
oned, and finally slain. Unto all these dis- 
tresses he was delivered by the very persons 
upon whom he ought to have been able to 
rely for protection and succor, for they 
claimed to be the custodians of the "law and 
the prophets," in the contents of which he 
declared himself a believer. 

So to-day, we are called heretic, not because 
we denounce the Bible, but because we 
uphold it. We appeal, as did our Master, to 
the Scriptures, and "contend for the faith" 
therein revealed; but we are confronted with 
creeds and commentaries us an answer in 
which the wisdom of men alone stands 
revealed. Thousands are building churches 
to the names of dead apostles and prophets 
but will not believe that there stand among 
.them living ones. Not only this, but like 
others of former time they will distort and 
misapply the Scriptures to defend a tradition 
though they crucify Christ's golden truth in 
so doing. 

In evidence of this let the text chosen be 
introduced. Since 1830 or thereabouts the 
words "Beware of false prophets" have been 
used by creed defenders against Joseph Smith 
and those 'engaged with him in proclaiming 
the gospel of Jesus Christ, until they have 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



355 



become household words and the impression 
has obtained among thousands, if not millions, 
of honest people that this application of 
Scripture was legitimate. Their only ground 
for thus believing is the testimony of the 
chief priests and Pharisees among them. If 
the reader has been thus influenced let us 
offer a few thoughts in regard to the matter, 
both as to the incorrectness and injustice of » 
such treatment of Scripture and men, and 
also with reference to the causes that have-, 
led thereunto. 

Let it be first stated that we are the vic- 
tims ofttimes of a prejudice that has been 
created by false education. While nearly all 
churches and societies have been called upon 
to furnish a representation of themselves for 
publication in encyclopaedias and schoolbooks, 
our enemies, or those interested in the over- 
throw of our church and work, have almost 
invariably been called upon to speak and 
write for us. The result of this has been just 
as might be expected. When the name of 
Latter Day Saint is mentioned in a commu- 
nity, or one of our elders appears there to 
preach for the first time, instead of going to 
hear him speak for himself, a resort is had to 
the encyclopaedias, and from thence as 
cruelly false and base an impression as is pos- 

23 



SERMON BY 



sible to obtain is gathered and the prejudice 
against us is strengthened in proportion. If 
the early day Pharisees alone had been con- 
sulted in order to learn the mission and char- 
acter of Christ and only their testimony had 
been handed down, very few in this age would 
tolerate even the mention of his name in their 
homes. 

Next, let us consider the text referred to 
and examine the application made: — 

Jesus had chosen his ministry and endowed 
them with supernatural gifts and declared 
that when the Comforter should come it 
would testify of him, and show them things 
to come. These divine endowments were 
for their enlightenment and protection after 
his departure. He also told them that the 
prince of this world was coming and would 
lie in wait to deceive and seek to overthrow 
the work commenced. To deceive those 
endowed with gifts of prophecy and miracles, 
the enemy would need to do as in Moses' 
day when the rods of the magicians became 
serpents also — imitate the divine, hence he 
would inspire men to prophesy and perform 
miracles closely resembling what was accom- 
plished by the divine Spirit in the apostles. 
Foreseeing this, Jesus kindly and clearly fore- 
warned them in the words before us, "Beware 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



355 



of false prophets." A provision was made 
against these false spirits which would seek 
to destroy the church by decoys of this kind. 
In First Corinthians, twelfth chapter, we have 
mention of nine supernatural gifts given to 
the church, among which are prophecy, 
tongues, and miracles, and all who read will 
agree that these were appointed to the church 
because there was a necessity for them. What 
then shall be said of that strange gift, also 
named in the same chapter, the "discerning of 
spirits"? Was that not also given because in 
God's foreknowledge it was found to be neces- 
sary ? If so, it is evident that God and Christ 
knew that false spirits would attempt to 
inspire men in the church to prophesy, as 
they had done in the days of Elijah and 
others. This gift was to make detection 
easy that the church might be saved. The 
gospel as then introduced reopened the way 
of communication with God, and the enemy 
stood ready to take advantage of the confi- 
dence of the people in these divine gifts, and 
to transform himself like unto an angel of 
light, if necessary, in order to "deceive the 
very elect" by his counterfeiting work. Jesus 
knew that not only would the divine Spirit — 
the Comforter — come when he left, but "many 
spirits" would go "abroad in the world," hence 



356 



SERMON BY 



he cried, "Beware of false prophets who come 
unto you in sheep's clothing" — appear and 
prophesy much like yourselves, in order to 
win you from the favor of God in time. 

Now compare the situation of that time 
with that of the age when Joseph Smith 
began his work. Where was the church that 
believed in those supernatural endowments, 
as a necessity, when this young man made his 
first proclamation? Every one of them 
declared that prophecy had ceased long cen- 
turies before, never to be heard again in the 
Christian church on earth. They had no con- 
fidence in such things, hence there could be 
no advantage taken of confidence that did not 
exist. There was nothing of the kind on 
earth. Satan's work of counterfeiting could 
not begin where no genuine was in existence. 
Suppose a banker should throw back a coin 
you presented and tell you it was counterfeit. 
In reply you ask how he has decided and he 
gives you nothing but his word to condemn 
it. Therefore you insist that he shall pro- 
duce a genuine coin for comparison, but he 
informs you that there is not one in exist- 
ence. Would you not ask him what the 
counterfeiter had to work by when yours 
was made ? Would you not promptly tell 
him that all coin in existence of that denomi- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



357 



nation, according to his statement, must be 
spurious, and if he had nothing but spurious 
coin to compare with, it was presumption for 
him to so denounce yours? Might it not be 
that yours, being unlike what was in circula- 
tion, thus bore one evidence of possibility in 
favor of its genuineness ? 

If there was not a living true prophet on 
earth with which to compare this young man 
how did they pronounce him false? How 
could he come to deceive a people by imita- 
tion who had no faith whatever in any such 
thing as a prophet in the church? 

Again, let us notice the description given 
of the kind referred to by Christ: They were 
to come in sheep's clothing. It would be 
interesting in this connection to know just 
who were the "sheep" at the time when Joseph 
Smith began his religious career. The 
sheep's clothing referred to certainly will not 
bear a strictly literal interpretation. It did 
not mean that prophets would come with 
literal sheepskins on them. It can only mean 
that they would in every noticeable respect 
bring a striking resemblance to the "sheep" 
or members of "the fold" — they would talk, 
and act, and appear like them. 

Let us see: The first announcement that 
this young prophet made to the churches 



358 



SERMON BY 



was, "You are all wrong and your creeds are 
an abomination in God's sight." This he 
said on the strength of what the angel told 
him and this was what provoked the bitter 
and persistent persecution which ever after- 
wards followed him. His language was 
unequivocal and he placed himself on record 
openly before the world in a way to invite 
criticism and condemnation rather than favor 
and flattery. The first announcement made 
by him was a virtual challenge to every 
religious body on earth. No hypocritical 
deceiver would ever attempt to openly 
denounce every religion in existence with the 
hope of ingratiating himself into the affections 
of those connected therewith. To reach this 
thought directly and avoid possibility of being 
mistaken let us again ask, Who were the 
"sheep" in his day? There were Presbyte- 
rians, Methodists, Baptists, and possibly others 
close to his home. If either or all of these 
represented the "sheep" and his aim was to 
lure and destroy, did he put on the doctrine 
and enter the fold of either of them ? Did 
he imitate the Methodist customs, or pat the 
Presbyterian confession, or talk sweetly about 
Calvinism in order to gain the good will of 
each or all ? A deceiver would have so done, 
according to Christ's warning and prophecy 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 359 



if these were indeed the "sheep"; but an hon- 
est man and a true prophet, if he spoke on the 
matter at all, would do just as Joseph Smith 
did. He claimed that he had been visited 
from heaven, and that the Lord had told him 
the churches "were all wrong and their creeds 
are abomination in his sight." He served 
this notice on all the churches, by the 
authority of heaven and took the conse- 
quences. Hence, as all thinkers must admit, 
he did not fill the programme for a false 
prophet, therefore every application of this 
text to him and his work is a perversion of 
its divine intent. All who are acquainted 
with his history know that if he had 
agreed with the churches and favored their 
proceedings he might have lived to this day. 
Whatever else may be said of him, he cer- 
tainly presented himself and his calling hon- 
estly before the world. He donned no fleece 
for the purpose of affiliating with those of 
like appearance. He came before men with a 
doctrine so utterly unlike everything found 
in the churches of his time, that all raised 
their hands . and voices against him and 
denounced him. They loudly proclaimed 
that he bore no resemblance to the "sheep" 
whatever. Let this fact be noted, for it will 
be referred to later. 



360 



SERMON BY 



He claimed to have been visited by the 
angels of God and to have received informa- 
tion regarding the early inhabitants of 
America — that the descendants of Joseph in 
Egypt had dwelt here, that they had been 
visited by the Savior after his crucifixion at 
Jerusalem, that his church had been organized 
as in Jerusalem, that divisions occurred 
among the people, followed by wars and 
calamities. He was told that a record had 
been kept on metal plates by the righteous 
among these people, and that just prior to 
the death of the last prophet — Mormon by 
name — he was commanded of God to hide up 
the plates in the earth and told that in the 
latter days they would be disinterred and in 
the Lord's hands become a testimony by which 
the restitution work among Jew and Gentile 
would be introduced and the identification of 
the offspring of Israel be made easier. The 
angel also showed Joseph Smith the location 
of the buried plates and gave him authority 
to obtain them, after which, by inspiration, he 
translated them and published their contents 
to the world. This was shown to him to be 
in fulfillment of Isaiah twenty-ninth chapter, 
also Ezekiel 37: 15-28 and other Bible 
prophecies. 

During and after the time of translating 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 361 



and publishing this record (Book of Mormon) 
to the world, which was completed in 1830, 
many revelations were given to him by the 
authority of which the Church of Christ was 
organized after the ancient Bible pattern, 
men and women having been baptized and a 
ministry ordained. Thus was this strange 
work commenced upon earth. But what of 
its doctrines? Did the representatives of this 
new church seek favor at the hands of other 
churches by repeating the old theories and 
traditions which a few centuries had made 
popular? No! By the Holy Spirit given 
them they read and understood the Bible as 
it was intended by the writers of it, and they 
were helped by the plain teachings of the 
same doctrines as found in the Book of Mor- 
mon, hence they went forth and preached 
Christ after the manner of eighteen hundred 
years ago, and invited men and women into 
the church, reorganized by command of 
God, in fulfillment of prophecy, and identical 
in organization and doctrine with the church 
of the. first century. They promised just 
what Jesus had authorized anciently (see 
Mark 16: 17, 18) and what had been included 
in the commission as renewed to themselves. 

Instantly, the sects of the day rose up and 
their pulpits scintillated fury. Creeds felt 



362 



SERMON BY 



the force of the onslaught made by the Bible 
in the hands of inspired men, and churches 
long at a disagreement combined to crush 
this new evangel. Powerless to resist by 
Scripture or reason the advancement of this 
divine enterprise, the creed worshipers seized 
upon this text and prostituting it to unholy 
service cried aloud, "Beware of false proph- 
ets." Then turning to their creeds they 
exclaimed, "Great is our Diana! these men 
say our creeds are an abomination in God's 
sight, and that they are doomed; but our 
ancestors have framed them and by them we 
will stand, for they shall never be over- 
thrown ! " 

Against this combination which was backed 
by the press and wisdom of the age, this little 
church planted its proclamation of divine 
authority and began to storm the citadels of 
heresy. The doctrine that infants were pre- 
destined to damnation was attacked with such 
weapons as, "Of such is the kingdom of 
heaven;" "Except ye be converted and become 
as little children, ye can in no wise enter in;" 
"As in Adam all die so in Christ shall all be 
made alive," and other equally pointed scrip- 
tures. It was denounced as monstrous and 
utterly unlike the declared purpose and char- 
acter of God. The dogma that hell was a 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 363 



lake of fire and brimstone into which all who 
failed to become Christians were to be cast, 
and there to be tortured eternally, never find- 
ing- release or cessation, was declared to be 
an infamous misrepresentation of the divine 
purpose and without warrant in the Scriptures. 
It was shown that hell was but a prison house 
into which the unsanctified spirits of men 
were cast between death and the resurrection, 
and where the mercy of God could still reach 
them, and from whence redemption was possi- 
ble, and that after the final resurrection, even 
hell itself would be cast into the lake of fire 
(see Revelation 20 : 14) where none but the 
finally and hopelessly incorrigible would ever 
be cast. It was also proclaimed on Bible 
authority that every act of goodness would be 
brought into account in the judgment and 
not a cup of cold water given to a disciple 
would escape the notice and remuneration of 
God. That every man would be rewarded 
or punished according to his earnings or 
deserts, some inheriting the "glory of the 
sun," others the "glory of the moon," and 
still others would differ in glory as the stars 
vary in magnitude. (1 Corinthians, 15: 41.) 
That every man should receive according to 
his works. 

It was announced also that death of the 



364 



SERMON BY 



body did not end human probation, but that 
every man and woman would hear the gospel 
of Christ in the spirit world before the resur- 
rection, if no opportunity had reached them 
while in the flesh; that the millions of 
Heathen would there come into remem- 
brance and the atonement of Christ would be 
published till all who had lived on earth 
would have privilege to believe and obey, and 
that Jesus had opened up the work of preach- 
ing in the spirit prison house just as he had 
commenced it among men in the flesh and for 
the same purpose. (See i Peter 3: 18-20; 4: 
5, 6 ; John 5 : 25.) 

The prophecies of the Old Testament were 
freely used to prove that the Jews would 
again come into remembrance; that the 
former fertility and glory would be restored 
to Palestine ; that Israel and Judah would 
return there and be reinstated, and that 
according to Isaiah 29:11-17 as interpreted 
and explained by the Book of Mormon the 
day of that wondrous restoration was at hand. 
The crowning result of all this was declared 
to be the second coming of Christ to dwell 
among his people on the earth. It was 
announced that his coming would be as 
literal as at the first. Further it was taught 
that the new church as then organized was 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 365 



to be one of the great factors in developing 
these promised conditions, and as a testimony 
to those believing the proclamation, the Holy 
Ghost was promised to give prophecy, 
tongues, miracles, healings, etc., as in former 
times. 

In consequence of this proclamation the 
pulpit and press retaliated upon the new 
religion with open denunciation and abuse as 
well as secret methods to overthrow. The 
fire and brimstone definition of hell was more 
boisterously proclaimed than ever and scrip- 
ture was distorted from its original intent to 
bolster this fearful misrepresentation. Cal- 
vinism bristled and reasserted its predestina- 
tion ideas with an enthusiasm worthy of 
a better cause, and all churches combined in 
denouncing the Book of Mormon and Joseph 
Smith for daring to assert the restoration of 
Palestine and reoccupation by the Jews. The 
second literal appearance of Christ was 
branded as the base materialistic conception 
of an untutored, carnal mind, and worshipers 
everywhere were exhorted to look for the 
coming of Christ only in the hour and article 
of death. It was to be only a figurative or 
spiritual coming. Probation after death was 
execrated upon sectarian altars and the old 
quotations, "There is no repentance beyond 



366 



SERMON BY 



the grave," and "As death leaveth us so 
judgment will find us," were vociferated 
loudly, though neither preachers nor hearers 
had ever found them in the Bible. The 
ordinance of "laying on of hands" for healing 
the sick and for the gift of the Holy Ghost 
was said to be a piece of blasphemous jugglery, 
and everywhere holy hands were raised 
against this innovation upon popularized 
religious customs of the age. 

Truly it was a time of testing to the infant 
church. Judged from a human standpoint all 
the odds were against it. Palestine for 1700 
years had lain a barren waste, the Jew was a 
hiss and a byword in all the earth, and citizen- 
ship was denied him under popular govern- 
ments. Not a circumstance could be pointed 
to as indicating the possibility of his return 
to build up and reinhabit the land of his fore- 
fathers. The wisdom of the world had for 
generations been strengthening creed fortifi- 
cations, till everything was being interpreted 
in their light and by their standards, even the 
Bible itself not escaping. What had these 
advocates of the new revelation to fall back 
upon in facing these giant conditions? Upon 
what could they rely for support and defense 
in executing the mission assigned them of 
God? Simply the impregnable barrier 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 367 



behind which their Master sheltered himself 
when confronted by the archenemy — "it is 
written." There they stood and compelled 
the churches of the day to attack their own 
pretended foundation — the word of God — if 
they would uproot or annihilate this faith. It 
was and is to this hour a spectacle such as 
heaven gazed upon when the early day 
apostles were denounced as heretics for con- 
tending for the faith set forth in the very 
Scriptures their persecutors pretended to 
revere. Christ in the preparation work for 
the final "restitution of all things" is as great 
a stumbling-stone to this age as was Jesus the 
crucified 1800 years ago. The gospel then 
was too insigmficant to command the admira- 
tion of the Pharisees and to-day it is too 
contemptible to enlist the respect of church- 
ianity. 

When the work began, however, notice was 
served on its despisers, as in Christ's day, 
that it was the kingdom of God in the germ, 
and though like the tiny mustard seed it 
seemed too small to excite respect, yet it 
would grow until the birds of the air would 
lodge in the branches of it. And we who live 
in the time of its maturing can see the fulfill- 
ment of this in the fact that its philosophy 
has extended and permeated society until 



368 



SERMON BY 



every once popular creed is tottering to its 
fall, and every revision thereof is being made 
in away that brings them nearer into line with 
this doctrine which provoked their hatred and 
called forth their anathemas sixty-five years 
ago. They are meeting the advanced educa- 
tion, sentiment, and demand of the present by 
striking out of their creeds what this church 
condemned over half a century ago, and they 
are beginning to introduce into their sermons 
and platforms now many of the features 
which were embodied in this faith when they 
despised it at that time. 

The revision of the Bible has practically 
eliminated the old idea of hell, and scarcely 
any of the forward men of thought will now 
use sputtering- brimstone as a means of win- 
ning souls to Christ. The creeds are being 
revised so as to eliminate the infant damnation 
feature as also the theory of eternal roasting 
because God had ordained some thereunto 
for his own pleasure and glory. 

Many of the leading divines in England and 
America have either directly or indirectly 
taught or favored the idea of probation after 
death in some form, among whom may be 
named Canon Farrar, Henry Ward Beecher, 
Prof. Briggs, and others. The Congrega- 
tional Church is divided pretty evenly upon 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 369 



this question and some have been ordained 
to carry consolation to the Heathen by pub- 
lishing this doctrine. The chief school of its 
theology has been made a feeder for this 
so-called heresy, until the law of the land has 
been invoked by creed-lovers to stop it. 

Twenty-three years after the Book of Mor- 
mon was first published, the early and latter 
rain, after seventeen hundred years absence, 
returned to Palestine, and the land has since 
become fruitful as in ancient years. This has 
caused the long exiled Jew to turn his eye 
thitherward and manv thousands have crath- 
ered there to build the waste places and to 
abide till their Messiah shall come. A line 
of railroad has been constructed from Jerusa- 
lem to Jaffa and from American shops have 
been furnished the locomotives that now dash 
across the territory once traversed by the 
weary feet of the Son of God. Meanwhile 
the Jew has been relieved of much of the disa- 
bility that once attached, and has climbed to 
the head of nations and helped control and 
regulate the machinery of Gentile govern- 
ments. Wealth unto multiplied millions has 
poured into his lap and by it he has placed 
vast territory subject to his control and made 
nations heedful of his diction. In fact he has 
thus established his feet more firmly than 

24 



370 



SERMON BY 



some of the dynasties of the present. Reli- 
gious leaders of the present are engaged in 
convening conferences wherein the Jew and 
Gentile pulpiteers may announce their views, 
compare their arguments, and beter under- 
stand and appreciate each other. Govern- 
ments have been considering means of relief 
for the oppressed Hebrews in certain places, 
and indications on every hand omen the 
speedy fruition of the ancient Jewish hope, 
for which through long years they have 
prayed. 

The second coming of Christ is now a 
theme in almost every popular pulpit, and the 
more venturesome ones among our preachers 
are vying with each other in trying to empha- 
size their faith in this glorious event. 
Scarcely a man of note among the churches 
will now seriously question the probability of 
it. The press has fallen in line and the popu- 
larity of the theme is already assured. Not 
only this, but scores of pamphlets and leaf- 
lets of various sizes are being published and 
circulated by the authority of popular 
churches, through chosen committees, setting 
forth the Scriptural warrant and reasonable 
ground for belief in the doctrine of healing 
the sick by faith, including prayer and the 
anointing with oil and the laying on of hands- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 371 



Thus, one by one, the points of doctrine 
embodied in what the world denounced as 
heresy sixty-five years ago are being incorpo- 
rated into the systems of the present and are 
being hailed with delight as evidencing the 
progress of intelligence and piety in the 
church. 

As we enter these institutions where the- 
ology is prepared for the masses, to suit the 
growing demands, it is at least interesting to 
be able to step up to the tables on which 
these doctors of divinity have been dissecting 
the old creeds, and to pick up a discarded 
fragment of Calvinism or a dismembered 
branch of Arminianism or a number of aban- 
doned points of Protestantism, around which 
once clustered the devotion of worshipers a 
generation or two ago, and for the preserva- 
tion of which the fagots were piled and the 
torch applied, and to be told by the men who 
hold the scalpel that these were damnable 
heresies, unfit to be taught and unworthy of 
place in the theology of this enlightened age. 
Our interest merges into gratification when 
we learn that the places from whence these 
offensive dogmas have been carved have been 
filled with fragments of what we recognize at 
once as being part of the doctrine proclaimed 
by Joseph Smith over half a century ago. 



372 



SERMON BY 



When he "piped" they "would not dance," 
when he "mourned" they "would not lament." 
When he preached the above items of doc- 
trine or denounced the creeds, he was derided 
and persecuted and slain as a dangerous and 
damnable heresy breeder ; but now that the 
despicable "mustard seed" has become a tree 
and the tottering creeds are seeking shelter 
in its branches or plucking twigs therefrom to 
cover the deformity discovered in themselves, 
they all enter for the dance. But who among 
them all has ever given credit to the young 
man who first faced the fire and endured the 
obloquy that these doctrines invited or pro- 
voked. The second part of our text tells of a 
poor wise man whose wisdom delivered the 
city, but who was not remembered by those 
who enjoyed the benefits of his service. Reli- 
gious history of this and the past generation, 
if faithful, should tell of the divine wisdom 
given a young man by which provision was 
made nearly seventy years ahead for the exi- 
gencies of Christendom. It should tell of the 
curses heaped upon him by those who should 
have loved him best. It should tell how, after 
denouncing his doctrine as infamous, they 
finally pilfered from that doctrine the points 
requisite to deliver their creeds from disaster. 
It should tell that, notwithstanding this was 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 



373 



done and Christendom reveled in the tempo- 
rary advantage thus secured, and the deliver- 
ance of their citadels from dishonor and ruin, 
they failed to even remember that same young 
man, but boasted in the advancement they 
themselves had made under the wise direction 
of hired theologians and skillful revisers. 

Reader, if those doctrines, now becoming 
popular, are true, they were no less true sixty- 
five years ago, and the clergy who denounced 
them were not the servants of God. If the 
religions of that time were the standards by 
which the religion introduced by Joseph 
Smith was measured when they pronounced 
him an impostor, what shall be said of the 
men who are now patching their fleeces or 
philosophy with pieces taken from his system 
which was so utterly unholy and impious then 
as to invite upon it their most terrible impre- 
cations ? 

Joseph Smith introduced his doctrine by 
God's command and never attempted to don 
any fleece then known to religious bodies in 
order to gain favor with the flock. For this 
boldness they denounced him as a false 
prophet. Since then the God who authorized 
him has been supplementing his work and the 
work of his colaborers, and what is the result? 
Simply that the world is rising to indorse hsi 



374 



SERMON BY 



utterance. If he voiced an untruth when he 
said the churches were wrong and the creeds 
were an abomination in God's sight, if he was 
guilty of blasphemy in this, what shall be said 
of the wise men who a couple of years ago, 
when considering the revision of a certain 
creed, declared that specific features therein 
were damnable heresies, that they did not be- 
lieve in and ought not to be held by them and 
should not extend the infamy and disgrace of 
them to their children? In short, let us ask 
you to remember that the points referred to a 
few paragraphs back were no part of the 
creeds sixty-five years ago, and in so far as 
they may be now, they justify us in pointing 
to the men who use them in connection 
therewith, and asking you to "beware of false 
prophets, who come unto you in sheep's 
clothing." These doctrines belong not to the 
creeds but to the gospel proclaimed by Joseph 
Smith and for which he was denounced a false 
prophet by the admirers of the very systems 
that have been repaired by material first 
declared in this generation by him. If it is 
now being discovered that he alone wore the 
genuine sheep's garment, then all those unlike 
his were false. 

Hence, we submit finally, the fact that "by 
their fruits ye shall know them." The fruit 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 375 



of a prophet is prophecy. If the prophecy is 
fulfilled then he was a true prophet. If not, 
then he was a false one. This is the only 
legitimate test; but failing to see any hope of 
defeating the young man's work by such 
honorable means, his enemies misapplied this 
scripture as they did the other part and tra- 
duced his reputation, as the Pharisees did 
that of Christ. He was charged with various 
crimes against the law, including immorality, 
and these charges were held up as evidence 
that he could not be a prophet of God. 
Those who thus vilified him were reckless of 
the fact that even were their charges true, 
such judgment as they passed thereupon 
would destroy the testimony of Moses, and 
David, and Solomon, and even Abraham and 
Peter, and numerous other Bible worthies. 
If Joseph Smiths lapses from virtue could 
prove that *God had never chosen him as a 
prophet, and his revelations and testimony 
were false, then let us be consistent and strike 
out all the Bible that contains the testimony 
of the others, for they certainly lived wide of 
the mark appointed of God as a gauge of 
moral conduct. 

This will not do, however, for should I 
prophesy to-day in God's name of the coming 
of a pestilence one week hence, and it should 



376 



SERMON BY 



come as predicted, its coming would confirm 
me a true prophet, even though I fell into 
sin before it came and perished by it when it 
arrived. By the fulfillment or failure of the 
young man's prophecies we determine him a 
true or false prophet and we submit the fore- 
going evidences in support of the claim that 
he was sent of God. Much other evidence is 
at hand ; but we forbear introducing it as we 
have already passed the limit of our intended 
space, hence we conclude with our humble 
testimony to the truth of the gospel delivered 
to Joseph Smith by an angel of God and by 
him proclaimed to the sons of men. Of his 
character we only know what those who had 
opportunity to learn have said of him, and 
from that we have always believed and do 
now believe him to have been a good man. 
If he lived by the doctrine he published he 
must have been great. Of the message he 
brought we ask no man's opinion. Its 
divinity is self-evident; its potency for good 
in the human character we have abundantly 
proven; its adaptation to human necessity is 
witnessed by its effects within the church that 
has closely adhered to its principles. If an 
increased love for Christ and humanity, a 
closer communion with God, a more intense 
dislike for iniquity, and a more complete con- 



ELDER JOSEPH LUFF. 377 



secration to the cause and interests of holi- 
ness and heaven are the fruitage of heavenly 
sowing, then the claim of divine origin for the 
doctrine he published is fully vindicated, and 
we expect to lay these evidences at last, 
together with the testimony of the Bible, 
at the feet of God and his Son Jesus Christ 
as reasons for our adhering thereto. To us 
this later revelation is a treasure of untold 
worth and we rejoice in its possession 
though to others it has proven to be "the 
modern stumbling-stone/' 



